Paris (AFP)
French swimmer Bolade Apithy, 33, clinched his first Grand Prix victory in Moscow on Saturday, winning the final against Eli Derschwitz of the United States 15-by-10 at three weeks of the European Championships.
A continental silver medalist in 2011 and 2012, Apithy had never managed to win the final of a Grand Prix or a World Cup event (two finals lost in May 2009 and June 2010).
In Moscow, he beat the Russian Kamil Ibragimov (world bronze medalist-2018 in Wuxi) in the quarter-finals (15-13), and the German Max Hartung, N.3 world, in the semifinals (15- 13) and finally the world No.1 Derschwitz in the final.
The European Championships will take place in Düsseldorf (Germany) from June 17 to 22, and the World Championships will take place one month later in Budapest from July 15 to 23. These two competitions will be crucial in the search for places for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
? 2019 AFP