by Xonzy Gaddis
Day six of the 2019 French Elite National Championship Meet wrapped up a week of quick swims in Rennes. The Sunday finals events included the women’s 800 meter freestyle, the men’s 50 meter freestyle, the women’s 50 meter fly, the men’s 100 meter fly, the women’s 200 meter back, the men’s 400 free, and the women’s 200 IM.
Highlights of the night include four swimmers getting FINA qualifying A times, including Clément Mignon, Oussama Sahnoune, Mehdy Metella, and Fantine Lesaffre. Additionally, for the second year in a row, Mehdy Metella topped the 100 butterfly at the French National Championships in Rennes.
Women’s 800 Free
Anna Egorova of Montpellier Metropole came back into the women’s 800 free strong with a winning time of 8:34.09, more than a ten second drop from prelims the day before, but missing the FINA qualifying A time by less than a second. Behind Egorova came Lara Grangeon of Calédoniens in second place with 8:39.44, followed by Aurélie Muller of Sarreguemines in third place with 8:43.84.
In fourth place came Oceane Cassignol of Montpellier Metropole with 8:46.02, followed by Adeline Furst of the Dauphins Obernai in fifth place (8:49.47), Nolwenn Nunes of Brest in sixth (8:51.34), Lisa Pou of Monaco Natation (8:52.88), and in eighth place came Celia Heurtaux of Saint-Raphael Natation with an 8:57.61.
Men’s 50 Free
The men’s 50 free flew by with Clément Mignon of Marseille swam into first place with 21.93. Mignon was followed by Oussama Sahnoune of Marseille in second place with a 21.96 and Maxime Grousset of Amiens Metropole in third place with a 22.21. Both Mignon and Sahnoune were able to sweep in for FINA qualifying A times.
Yonel Govindin of Marseille swam into fourth place with a 22.27, followed by Orhan Dine-Moreira of En Tours in fifth place (22.71), Tom Paco-Pedroni of Olympic Nice Natation in sixth place (22.76), Guillame Guth of Dauphins Toulouse in seventh place (22.87), and Max Berg of Montpellier Metropole claiming the eighth spot with a 22.99.
Women’s 50 Fly
Marie Wattel of Montpellier Metropole flew into the wall for the women’s 50 fly with a 25.90, claiming the first place spot in the event. Béryl Gastaldello of Marseille claimed the second spot with a 26.05, and Mélanie Henique of Marseille took the third place spot with a 26.18.
In foruth place came Lena Bousquin of Marseille with a 26.37, followed by Naële Portecop of Amiens Metropole with a 26.59, Anais Arlandis of AS Monaco in sixth place (26.77), Lou Guirado of CN Antibes in seventh place (27.30), and Emma Morel of Cercle Nageurs St. Joseph in eighth place with a 27.63.
Men’s 100 Fly
Mehdy Metella of Marseille swooped in for the first place spot in the men’s 100 fly with a 50.85, securing an FINA qualifying A time. The time was also a new French record. To continue, Metella was followed by Jérémy Stravius of Amiens Metropole in second place with a 52.05 and Jeremy Desplanches of Olympic Nice Natation with a 52.58 for the third place spot.
Metella now has the top time in the world for 2019 and is faster than his 51.24 at European Championships last year.
Next, Nans Roch of CN Antibes stepped up for the fourth place spot in the event with a solid 52.87, followed by Pierre Henry Arrenous of ASPTT Poitiers with a 53.02 in fifth place, Flavien Aubry of U.S. Creteil Natation in sixth place (53.55), Serguei Comte of EMS Bron (53.64), and Nicolas Vermorel of Marseilles in eighth place with a 54.23.
2019 World Rankings:
- Mehdy Metella, FRA, 50.85
- Sebastian Sabo, SRB, 51.34
- Marius Kusch, GER, 51.35
- James Guy, GBR, 51.42
- Naoki Mizunuma, JPN, 51.43
- Caeleb Dressel, USA, 51.51
- Chad Le Clos, RSA, 51.52
- Piero Codia, ITA, 51.75
Women’s 200 Back
Pauline Mahieu of Canet 66 Natation claimed the first place spot of the women’s 200 back, slightly beating out Lilou Ressencourt of Olympic Nice Natation by about seven tenths of a second. Ultimately, Mahieu took the first place spot with a 2:14.15. Ressencourt took second place with 2:14.86 and Lila Touili of Marseille claimed third place with a 2:16.36.
Louise Lefevre of Mulhouse touched in for fourth place with a 2:16.92, followed by Lisa Pou of AS Monaco Natation for fifth place (2:18.52), Claire Bourse of Brest in sixth place (2:18.80), Clothilde Cousson of Canet 66 Natation in seventh place (2:19.50), and Julia Scrivin of Lyon Natation Metropole with a 2:21.46, finishing in eighth place.
Men’s 400 Free
The final event for men of the weekend finished out strong with David Aubry of Montpellier Metropole claiming first place with a 3:47.06, missing the FINA A qualifying time by less than a second. Following Aubry, Joris Bouchat of Stade de Vanves claimed the second place spot with a 3:49.23, followed by Mehdi Lagili of Millau Grands Causses in third place with a 3:50.27.
Damien Joly of Montpellier Metropole swam into fourth place with a 3:51.99, followed by Jordan Pothain of Olympic Nice Natation with a 3:53.26 for fifth place, Tommy-Lee Camblong of Canet 66 fir sixth place (3:53.78), Logan Fontaine of Vikings de Rouen in seventh place (3:55.31), and Hugo Sagnes of Amiens Metropole with a 4:02.38, claiming the eighth place spot in the event.
Women’s 200 IM
The women’s 200 IM signaled a confident close to the meet with Fantine Lesaffre of Stade de Vanves finishing in first place with nearly a three second lead, dropping a 2:11.70, qualifying for an FINA qualifying A time. Next, Lesaffre was followed by Cyrielle Duhamel of Stade Béthune Pélican Club claiming second place with a 2:14.12, and Camille Dauba of Sarreguemines with a 2:15.37.
Additionally, in fourth place came Juliette Drevet of Stade Clermont Natation with a 2:19.37, followed by Vera Lowe from Montpellier Metropole in fifth place (2:20.46), Bertille Cousson of Stade Béthune Pélican Clubin sixth place (2:20.50), Meghan Frouin of Stade Français o Courbevoie in seventh place (2:21.26), and in eighth place Marine Verot of Viry-Châttillon with a solid 2:21.88.
First off I would like to say superb blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.
I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your mind
before writing. I have had trouble clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out there.
I truly do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first
10 to 15 minutes are wasted simply just trying to figure out how to begin.
Any ideas or tips? Many thanks!