2024-02-19 11:09:14
Deprived of their stars in these world championships, some French people plunged towards victory, while others leave with doubts before the Paris 2024 deadline.
Coming to Doha without their stars Léon Marchand, Florent Manaudou and Maxime Grousset, the swimming Blues leave these Worlds with a mixed record. It was therefore a delegation deprived of its best assets which lined up on the starting line. Twelve swimmers all driven by the same ambition: to win medals and reassure themselves before the Olympics. To this must be added all the divers, poloists and open water specialists who took part in this major aquatic sports event in Qatar. In their cases, the issue was much more decisive: seeking qualification for the Paris Games.
In this game, the tricolors absolutely assured. For the first time in its history, the French open water team qualified four swimmers for the Olympics – Caroline Jouisse, Océane Cassignol, Logan Fontaine and Marc-Antoine Olivier. The two swimmers validated their ticket to Paris by finishing in the top ten of their two races, over 5 and 10 kilometers. And the swimmers even signed a historic double, finishing first and second respectively in the 5 kilometer. A second silver medal for Marc-Antoine Olivier, already titled in the 10 kilometers. The latter was not guaranteed to compete in the Worlds: only forty-eight hours before the start of the 10 kilometer race, the swimmer learned that he had been cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, after three breaches in the fight against doping. But he is not yet completely out of the woods, with the International Swimming Federation and the World Anti-Doping Agency still able to appeal the decision.
Frustrating little finale for the polo players
Another first in history: the French diving team qualified two representatives for the Paris Olympiad. Having reached the final of the 3 meter diving, Jules Bouyer and Gwendal Bisch secured their nominative ticket for this summer. What pride for the two friends who prepared and qualified together. In silver in the 27-meter diving, Gary Hunt will not compete in Paris in this event, which is not included in the Olympic program. Naturalized in 2020, the most British of French divers will nevertheless have a chance to prove himself in synchronized diving at 10 meters.
In water polo, the French men’s team leaves with its “chocolate medal”. A fourth place which marks a dazzling progression in recent years. But a frustrating little final after a masterfully conducted tournament. For their coach, this result is no mystery, it is the “Paris 2024 effect”. This performance does not allow us to forget the thirteenth place of the women’s team, a disappointment when we know that the polo players finished ninth in their last Worlds, and even eighth in 2022 (their best result). All that remains is to hope that in Paris, the number 13 brings them luck. Because the water polo team will still be present at the Games, like their male counterparts: France being the host country, all are automatically qualified.
La désillusion d’Anastasiia Kirpichnikova
Among those who came to collect medals, the results are less glorious. Like Charlotte Bonnet, and her seventh place in the 200 meter medley final. Obviously a little disappointing after having signed the fifth best time during the semi-finals.
But another swimmer, also trained by Philippe Lucas, suffered even greater disillusionment. Much was expected of Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, naturalized French in the spring of 2023 after fleeing Russia, and who brought two gold medals to her adopted country at the last European Championships in December. This was without taking into account the illness: suffering for three weeks from the flu, which transformed into bronchitis, the swimmer presented herself in Doha very weak. Not even qualified for the final of the 400 meters freestyle, she ended her Worlds by withdrawing from the 800 meters. Over 1,500 meters, where she would have liked to get on the podium, especially in the absence of Katie Ledecky (the American reigning Olympic champion over this distance). Kirpichnikova ultimately had to settle for fifth place, finishing her race with a time far removed from her usual performance.
Beautiful medals for David Aubry and Mélanie Hénique
The results of David Aubry, double silver medalist at the European Championships, reflect the overall tricolor results: half a fig, half a grape. In the 400 meter freestyle, he did not qualify for the final, by a few tenths of a second – having achieved the ninth time during the heats, when he had to be in the top eight. But the Montpellier native was able to make up for it, at the conclusion of the Worlds, thanks to his beautiful bronze medal over 1,500 meters.
Ultimately, the fittest was Mélanie Hénique. Hyper regular in her times, second in the heats, second in the semi-finals, the Marseillaise logically finished second in the 50 meter butterfly final. Enough to open up a promising horizon for the Olympic deadline.
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