DUNKERQUE, France, March 24. LAURE Manaudou, one of the comeback success stories this year having returned to competitive swimming after a retirement, collected her second individual Olympic swim of the 2012 London Games during the French Olympic Trials.
FINALS
Women's 200 back
Cuts: Finals: 2:10.84
Laure Manaudou is definitely back in action in a big way. After earning her third Olympic appearance with a berth in the 100 back earlier in the week, Manaudou qualified for the 200 back with a 2:08.06. That swim vaulted her to fourth in the world, behind only Belinda Hocking (2:06.68), Meagen Nay (2:07.83) and Elizabeth Simmonds (2:07.92). Alexianne Castel captured the second Olympic roster spot in the distance dorsal with a 2:08.57 to move to seventh in the world.
Cloe Credeville was one of the few hard luck stories of this meet, to have posted a time fast enough to qualify, but miss out because of two faster swimmers. Credeville placed third in 2:09.79 to move into 12th in the world rankings.
Marie Jugnet (2:12.20), Aleksandra Putra (2:12.85), Camille Gheorghiu (2:15.09), Justine Ress (2:16.40) and Fantine Lesaffre (2:18.14) rounded out the championship heat.
Men's 100 fly
Cuts: Heats: 54.00; Semis: 52.62; Finals: 52.36
USA's Tyler McGill captured the championship title in 51.95 to move to second in the world, but still must qualify via the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer. He stands behind only Chris Wright's 51.67 set at the Australian Olympic Trials earlier this month.
Clement Lefert placed second in 52.48, missing out on an individual event in the Olympics by missing the semifinal cut and the finals cut. He did, however, make the 400 free relay earlier in the meet. Romain Sassot took third in 52.86, while Mehdy Metella placed fourth in 52.89.
Christophe Lebon (53.49), Paul Lemaire (53.86), Jordan Coelho (54.20) and Thomas Vilaceca (54.50) finished fifth through eighth in the finale.
Women's 50 breast
No cuts for non-Olympic distances
Coralie Dobral claimed the sprint breast title in 32.03 for 18th in the world rankings. Fanny Babou touched second in 32.16, while Sophie De Ronchi placed third in 32.31. Andrea Baudry (32.48), Aggelici Eksarhou (32.59), Julia Vendeville (32.77), Margaux Le Friec (33.13) and Claire Polit (33.81) completed the championship finale.
Men's 50 breast
No cuts for non-Olympic distances
Giacomo Perez Dortona clocked a 27.83 for the victory. He moved up to a fifth-ranked tie with Fabio Scozzoli and Mattia Pesce in this year's world rankings. Hugues Duboscq placed second in 28.42, while Joseph Welstead finished third in 28.54. Thomas Rabeisen (28.57), Geoffrey Ferrari (28.77), Maxime Bussiere (28.79), Rainui Teriipaia (28.80) and Yvan Mandalinic (29.21) also competed in the finale.
Women's 800 free
Cuts: Finals: 8:33.84
Coralie Balmy earned a spot on the Olympic roster in the distance freestyle event. Balmy won the race in 8:29.96 to move to ninth in the world, while Romania's Camelia Potec, who trains in France, posted an 8:31.06 for second to move up to 11th in the rankings. It's unclear if Potec, the 2004 Olympic champion in the 200 free, was able to qualify for the Romanian team with this swim, as she also cleared the FINA A standard.
Aurelie Muller (8:45.55), Adeline Martin (8:47.83), Coralie Codevelle (8:51.32), Lara Grangeon (8:58.17), Anne-Gabriela Bouteloup (9:04.84) and Ophelie Aspord (9:05.02) comprised the rest of the top eight.
Men's 50 free
Cuts: Finals: 22.11
Four swimmers cleared the FINA A cut in what proved to be a swift finale. Amaury Leveaux topped allcomers with a 21.93, edging Florent Manaudou (21.95) and Fabien Gilot (21.96) in the process. Leveaux improved to sixth in the world this year with his Olympic-qualifying swim, while Manaudou's 21.95 not only earned him the second spot on the team, it jumped him to eighth in the world. Gilot moved to ninth in the world, but missed the Olympic roster in this event.
Fred Bousquet wound up fourth in 22.05, while Alain Bernard took fifth in 22.15. Boris Steimetz (22.70), Yoris Grandjean (22.71) and Nosy Pelagie (22.87) also swam in the finale.
SEMIFINALS
Women's 50 free
Cuts: Heats: 26.00; Semis: 25.37; Finals: 25.27
The Netherlands' Inge Dekker posted a pair of sub-25 times today with a 24.97 in prelims and a 24.83 to lead semis. Her season best is a third-ranked 24.42 from Amsterdam earlier this month. Anna Santamans paced the French with a 25.23, which along with her 25.38 from prelims keeps her eligible to earn an Olympic spot. Justine Bruno placed third in 26.04, missing out on Olympic eligibility.
Mathilde Cini (26.16), Isabelle Mabboux (26.23), Angela Tavernier (26.27), Maria-Elena Letang (26.27) and Alena Popchanka (26.33) rounded out the championship eight.