The captains were starting to find the time long but they were finally able to (re)enter the water. After being released in the half of the 50m butterfly at the start of the competition, Florent Manaudou dived this Thursday morning in the series of the 50m freestyle, the event which crowned him king of Olympus (2012) and of the world. (2015). The Habs settled for the 13th time in the series in 22′’04 while Maxime Grousset, freshly silver medalist in the 100m NL, signed the 6th morning time (21′’97).
“It was like a morning, breathes Manaudou. I wasn’t too awake. I relax a little at 35 m, maybe I shouldn’t have. I was starting to find the time a little long, I really wanted to swim, but it’s great to have spent the last few days sharing the emotions with the other swimmers of the France team. »
Hénique dreams of the title in the 50m butterfly
Mélanie Hénique, the other blue-white-red captain, made her debut in the competition in the 50m butterfly, where she won the world bronze eleven years ago. It too carried by the wave of euphoria, even if it is necessary to know how to be wary of it. “It’s still a long time to see the others swim,” she smiles. It’s a long time to have to go back to the hotel instead of watching the races. I did that the last two days and we won medals. It’s super hard to live with but it’s necessary to keep energy. If I had been in the stands, I would have been in a trance… In any case, it’s a crazy week, we hadn’t experienced that for a long time. It shows that the younger generation is there. »
Hénique does not hide it. She is openly aiming for the title this Friday evening. “Yes, I dream of winning and I know it’s possible even if the girls are going to be hard to beat and if it’s a bit hidden too, slips the sprinter from CN Marseille, 3rd in the series in 25′’61. We’ll see, I can’t wait to be in the final. »
Marie Wattel, she already hopes to achieve this. The vice-world champion in the 100m butterfly is a bit dull on the sixth day of competition. And Thursday evening also awaits the final of the 100 m NL.
“It’s not the same shape as at the beginning,” she says. I’m going to try to hang on tonight and grab a spot or two in the 100m NL (she entered the final with the 8th time). My body takes a hit but it was clearly the objective of the competition to learn and gain experience on the sequence of strokes, the passage between the butterfly and the crawl, etc. I was hoping to get a medal on one or the other of the two events but I think it will be fair…”
The 4 x 200 m relay won its place in the final with the 7th fastest time in the series. Thursday evening, the Blues can count on the support of a certain Léon Marchand.
