Which feeling dominates: the joy of having climbed so high or the frustration of missing the podium?
Maxime Grousset:
When I looked at the table and saw that I was fourth, I was really very happy, because basically, I'm eighth (semi-final time, Editor's note).
A little frustrated also to be at the foot of the podium, but to get third place, I had to raise my level a notch.
To discover
The full Olympic program
The Olympic medal table
How did you approach your first Olympic final, in the 100m as a bonus?
I approached it very calmly, with a lot of excitement as well. I was really excited to be able to do this 100m with these champions. I was able to confront them, I think I'm one of the best now and that's great. We said with Michel (Chrétien, his trainer, editor's note) that I had to try something. I was outside, I went full out, very hard. I cracked at the end, that's what makes Chalmers come back up and far overtakes me at the end, I have no more energy.
What does it mean to you to rank 4th in the queen race?
It was already a kid's dream to make a final, so being in the top four ... I'm really super proud of myself. I still have a very small notch left to get over it and get on the podium. The best swimmers in the world are in front of me, and I'm right behind, I'm not far. But not far, that does not mean stepping on the podium. They are still much better than me, but they might know who I am now.