Paris (AFP)

With a time of 46 sec 10 on the 100 m, almost a second in front of his first pursuer, Maxime Grousset splashed the final of the queen distance to win the title of champion of France in short course, Sunday during the last day in Angers.

Even in the absence of the tricolor cadors of the French sprint - Florent Manaudou, Mehdy Metella or Clément Mignon -, the Amiens swimmer still impressed with a time superior of 44 hundredths to that established last week at the championships of 'Europe in Glasgow where he had finished only fourth.

"I wanted to match, to confirm, but it's even better than anything I hoped for," said Maxime Grousset with a smile after his performance, which promises him a good tomorrow and legitimate ambitions for the Tokyo Olympics.

At just 20, he gained more than a second in a single year over the distance. "Training and hard work pays off, I tear myself apart every day," he said.

His 11-year-old elder Jérémy Stravius, who came second, could not resist the power of the Amiens swimmer and finished 92 hundredths behind him.

It is true that Stravius, 31, had just won the 50 backstroke with his endless flows which delighted the spectators of Angers, in a time of 23:05 which would have offered him a silver medal in Glasgow .

"It is a correct weather which confirms my good form this week," commented Stravius ​​who swam his last race in the French short course championship for his 16th and last participation.

It is his third title this weekend after the 100 m butterfly and the 200 m breaststroke.

David Aubry, who was chasing his own French record over 1,500, lacked freshness at the end of the race but nevertheless also won his third title, after the 400 m and the 800 m.

After the 100 m on Saturday, Theo Bussière offered himself the 50 m on Sunday ahead of Antoine Viquerat who had triumphed on Friday in the 200 m breaststroke.

With a time under four minutes (3: 59.80), the bridgehead of French women's swimming, Charlotte Bonnet, won the women's 400m, having triumphed in the 200m and took second place in the 100m, distance where she was crowned European champion in Glasgow.

"Having laps not far from my best, my way of swimming and approaching races during the weekend all that reassured me," said Charlotte Bonnet, who is coming out of a difficult year where she dragged a long injury.

Lara Grangeon, swimming stakhanovist who chained races over four days, ended her marathon with a new title in 200 backstroke which she won after those in the 200 m butterfly, the 800 m freestyle and the 400 m 4 medley.

The young French generation also appeared in Angers with notably Naële Portecop who, at 16, won her first title of champion of France in the 100m butterfly.

© 2019 AFP