Saint-Raphaël (France) (AFP)

Qualifying time, plus personal record lowered by half a second: Mélanie Hénique, still a teenager, then confined for a long time to places of honor until the end of last year, has proven that she has the resources to afford herself an Olympic future over 50 m at the French Championships, Saturday in Saint-Raphaël.

At ten days of his 28 years, Henic hit hard from the morning series by completing the one way in 24 sec 34. Better than the 24 sec 53 requested to claim to pocket his ticket for the Tokyo Games as quickly as possible, from the start. end of the first phase of Olympic qualification at the end of next March (on condition of remaining the fastest French swimmer in the distance).

Better also than the French record set in 2017 by Anna Santamans (23.54).

Much better finally - 52 hundredths precisely - than his personal best brought under 25 seconds in January (24.86).

She confirmed her new dimension by winning in 24 sec 39 in the final.

"After ten, twelve years of high level, to drop half a second of his best time, it's an exceptional moment, it's really impressive", greets his trainer Julien Jacquier.

"I'm very happy with my swimming, I'm getting a taste for it, there is no more breakage, it goes to the end, rejoices Henic. This is my first (national) title over 50 m, it represents a lot, a lot of work, time spent thinking, how to put an arm, how my body is in the water, how to progress ... "

- "Auspicious" -

"Everything is well intertwined today and it gives that. The year of the Games is a good omen," she smiles.

Seven months before the Olympics-2020 postponed by a year, it is the realization of a long journey for the Picardy sprinter, who joined Marseille in December 2014.

When Hene distinguished herself for the first time in the French team, by winning European bronze in the 50m butterfly in 2010 in Budapest, she was only seventeen years old.

When she repeated the performance at the world level a year later in Shanghai, only eighteen.

From there, she became a regular in summers in Blue for almost ten years, with two reservations, and not the least.

It does not qualify for the 2012 Olympics, and owes its place to the 2016 Olympics over 50m only to a very wide selection in the confusion.

The problem ?

Her heart race, the 50m butterfly, is not Olympic, and Hénique must imperatively widen her palette to give herself the means to appear well.

His first option, the 100m butterfly, fell through.

It was his second, the 50m, which finally bore fruit.

It changed a year ago at the European Short Course Championships in Glasgow.

Precisely after a known air gap in the spring of 2019, when she failed to qualify for the 2019 World Championships in the long course.

A "stab", according to Arnaud Rondan, one of the Marseille coaches.

- "Toxic" -

In the Scottish Basin, Henic won her first individual international crown, over 50 m butterfly.

Then the silver medal in the 50m, improving his personal best in each of his three races.

Of her non-qualification for the Worlds in Gwangju, "it was bad for good," she said at the time.

"I had the time to look for the working tools to perform today and tomorrow", especially in terms of nutrition.

"My biggest quality is that I manage to question myself, I transform the negative into the positive. After my non-qualification, I said to myself: + What can you improve?"

And there were so many things ... ", recalls Henic.

"She is happy now to look for that, whereas before she was only looking for the perf. It had become toxic", adds Jacquier.

By exporting her development to the large basin, Hénique has become one of the top 15 swimmers in activity over 50 m.

From Glasgow, she was right on target: "it's only the Olympics that count".

Aurélie Muller, not qualified in open water and who aims to go to Tokyo over 1500 m, is still very far, more than forty seconds.

© 2020 AFP