Chartres (AFP)

Maxime Grousset asserts himself as the leader of the French sprint: the young swimmer is the only one to have obtained his Olympic qualification in the 100 m, the queen race at the French Championships, on Friday in Chartres.

No one else, especially Mehdy Metella (4th in 48.93), world 100m bronze medalist in 2017 but in slow motion since left shoulder surgery in January 2020, swam fast enough - 48 sec 57 au minimum - to pocket the second ticket in play over 100m.

At 22 years old like Grousset, Antoine Viquerat also invited himself to Tokyo in the 200 m breaststroke by subtracting more than a second from his personal best (2: 10.21 for 2: 10.35 requested).

A month ago, at the European Championships in Budapest, Grousset had made a place for himself in the French sprint by breaking the 48-second barrier for his first international long-course final.

By swimming the round trip in 47 sec 90 (5th), he had become the third best French performer in history on the main race (excluding performances achieved during the time of supersonic suits), behind Metella (47.65 in 2017) and Yannick Agnel (47.84 in 2012).

In the Chartres basin, he confirmed his level of performance at the moment.

From the series, which he dominated in 47 sec 99. Then in the final, won in 47 sec 89, a new personal best for one hundredth.

Which earned him to confirm his qualification for his first Olympics.

- "Tamed" -

“It's done!” Smiles the New Caledonian sprinter, who came to train under the direction of Michel Chrétien at the age of sixteen, first in Amiens, then at Insep. Everyone said to me: + It's well, you are going to qualify. +. Me, I did not like to say it before, I said + No, as long as I did not swim the final, I am not qualified +. I knew that I could do it, that I was going to do it, but I'm really relieved and super happy. "

At first more comfortable over 50 m, Grousset "tamed the 100 m".

"Before, I did not control it at all, it was in a rush, it broke at the end, and obviously, it was not a good time. Now I'm settled, I mastery from A to Z, and it's been 47 seconds, "he explains.

At their respective selections, Caeleb Dressel, the double reigning world champion of the queen race, and Kyle Chalmers, the reigning Olympic champion, have just signed the 100 m in 47 sec 39 and 47 sec 59.

"I would dream of swimming a final with Caeleb Dressel! Go get him, I don't think I'm capable of it for the moment, says Grousset. But we don't give ourselves limits."

Limits, Metella still has considerable with his operated shoulder in early 2020, which continued to make him suffer until recently.

- Manaudou in 48 sec 58 -

So much so that the 28-year-old Guyanese only ranked fourth in the 100m, behind Grousset therefore, Charles Rihoux (48.81) and Clément Mignon (48.89).

It was finally Florent Manaudou, focused individually on winning back Olympic gold in the 50m but claiming, like them all, to a selection with the 4x100m relay, who swam the second best time of the day, with his 48 sec 58 in heats.

"It's my best 100m since my return, it's cool, he appreciates. I was really good until the 80m, after that it cracks a bit, I'm not prepared and I don't I don't have the youth for it. But in a grand Olympic final, in the relay, it will be different. "

For Metella, the first 100m in less than 49 seconds since the summer of 2019, all is not lost: he will aim for a ticket to Tokyo in the 100m butterfly on Sunday.

In the meantime, it is without disappointment that he welcomed his non-qualification on the queen race given the circumstances.

"It's a recovery, I manage to recover a bit, it's not bad, he considers. I'm in no hurry to find my best level. We had to run after time, we tried , there is nevertheless something which was triggered: in two weeks, I go from 50 seconds (at the meeting of Canet) to 48 seconds. It is not disgusting. "

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