Day two of the 2017 French National Championships continued with France’s Aurelie Muller, Beryl Gastaldello, and Switzerland’s Jeremy Desplanches posting times within the top 20 world rankings.
Aurelie Muller dominated the competition in the women’s 1500 free, turning in a final time of 16:24.34 to rocket into the top 20 world rankings for 2017. Muller’s time sits well beneath the FINA ‘A’ qualifying standard of 16:32.04 and earns her a ticket to Budapest. Julie Berthier finished second overall in the 1500 free with a 16:48.65, while Coralie Codevelle was third with a 16:52.49.
The men’s 100 breast was topped by Theo Bussiere, who stopped the clock with a 1:00.62. Bussiere’s time sits just outside of the top 20 world rankings for 2017 and just missed the FINA ‘A’ cut of 1:00.35. Quentin Coton turned in a second place finish of 1:01.80, followed by Wassim Elloumi’s 1:01.94.
Lara Grangeon flew away from the competition in the women’s 200 fly, finishing almost three seconds ahead of the competition. Grangeon posted a final time of 2:09.35 for first and a ticket to Budapest, finishing just below the FINA ‘A’ cut of 2:09.77. Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands took second overall with a time of 2:12.31, just ahead of Solweig Picault’s 2:13.96.
Switzerland’s Jeremy Desplanches rocketed past the competition and into the world rankings with a top showing in the men’s 400 IM. Desplanches’ clocked a 4:13.11 to move to tenth in the world rankings for 2017. Frenchmen Nicolas D’Oriano and Mathis Castera picked up second and third with times of 4:23.99 and 4:24.55.
The women’s 50 back final was highlighted by tight finishes as the top two athletes touched within .22 seconds of one another. Beryl Gastaldello claimed victory with a 28.21, moving her into the top 20 world rankings for 2017. Mathilde Cini finished close behind with a 28.43, joining Gastaldello beneath the FINA ‘A’ cut of 28.52. Mathilde Jean completed the podium with a third place finish of 28.90.
Individual events of the second day concluded with the men’s 200 free, where the top three men all posted 1:48 finishes. Jonathan Atsu led the charge to the finish, turning in a gold medal time of 1:48.15. Jordan Pothain was second overall with a time of 1:48.66, while Lorys Bourelly took third with a time of 1:48.83.
