The absent are always wrong.
The refrain is well known.
With the Commonwealth Games taking place from July 28 to August 8, many swimmers from Australia, Great Britain or Canada have given up on the World Championships to be held in Budapest from this Saturday. .
So much the worse for them, and perhaps so much the better for the French team which, with 21 members (7 women and 14 men), will try to recover after the Tokyo Olympics marked by a single hexagonal medal, that in silver for Florent Manaudou in the 50m freestyle.
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A Manaudou who will also be the only real headliner of the Blues in Hungary.
Which is not necessarily a bad thing according to the former multiple champion of France Sophie Kamoun.
“
It will be interesting to discover new faces who will shine in Paris in 2024. There will undoubtedly be a little less density at these World Championships due to the absence of certain posters.
It is likely that reaching the final will be less challenging than a year ago at the Games.
But the fact remains that to be world champion, you will have to swim very quickly.
»
Léon Marchand, the new star
At just 20 years old, Léon Marchand represents the present and the future of French swimming in the eyes of Sophie Kamoun.
“
I'm looking forward to seeing what he's capable of doing in the deep end, after the huge lap times he's had in yards this winter.
With a classic conversion to meters, this gives times that can take him to the top of the world podium.
Or at least on the podium, both in the 200m and the 400m medley.
I am ready to put a small coin on a 400 world championship title and a 200 podium. It may seem completely crazy but in the end not so much when you know his talent and his evolution for a year.
Thus, on March 24, 2022, Léon Marchand won the 200 yards medley (about 182 meters) in 1'37''69 at the American university championships, thus improving the record for the event by almost half a second. held by a certain Caeleb Dressel.
A convincing performance, then.
The only question for the consultant BeINSports and RMC, “
we will have to see how he assimilated the big progress of winter and the transition to the large basin.
With Bob (Bowman, former coach of Michael Phelps), they get to know each other and will live together the challenges of a first real preparation.
We will also have to see how he manages his new status, he is one of the favorites for the title.
But he has such potential that anything could happen very quickly for him.
»
Maxime Grousset, the awaited confirmation
A little less than a year after his formidable 4th place in the 100m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, Maxime Grousset finds himself facing the delicate challenge of confirmation.
At 23, the swimmer from New Caledonia is a candidate for a medal according to Sophie Kamoun: “
When you finish 4th at the Olympic Games, it is legitimate to aim for the world podium the following year.
However, nothing will be easy in the 100m freestyle as many youngsters are progressing behind leaders such as Caeleb Dressel and Kyle Chalmers.
I am thinking in particular of the Romanian David Popovici (17 years old).
And then we must not forget that in Tokyo, between his 4th place and 8th, there were only 38 hundredths.
Maxime had also qualified for the final at line 8!
“Another flat concerning him, “
Maxime also had some health issues this winter, with shoulder problems.
It did not have a winter as successful as the previous one.
He has not had a year as serene as the previous one.
His goal will already be to repeat his Games time and reach the final.
Then, knowing his qualities as an exceptional competitor, anything is possible.
»
Yohann Ndoye Brouard, in back major
Without pun intended, Yohann Ndoye Brouard hopes to turn his back definitively on this sad episode of the last Games in Tokyo when, in the semi-finals of the 100m backstroke, he missed a turn, hitting his head.
An incident that he then explained as follows: “
I was dazzled by the spots because I have a small eye problem, we've seen it for a year.
I have a corneal deformity.
“And the back-officer adds: “
It's not the first time that I've been dazzled like this.
The last time, in Budapest (during the European Championships), I already hit with the head.
» Budapest where the World Championships will take place.
But don't worry since the 21-year-old swimmer has since undergone surgery to prevent the disease from progressing and has worked with his equipment supplier and an optician from Chambéry (Rosset Opticiens) to create a pair of swimming goggles preventing any glare.
And Sophie Kamoun, she only wants to retain the positive from Tokyo: “
Yohann would have been in the final almost certainly without this incident in the semi-finals.
With the time achieved during the relay then, he was in the Top 6 in the final.
The race will be different in Budapest.
In the absence of the Russians Evgeny Rylov and Kliment Kolesnikov, who achieved the double at the Games, new prospects are opening up for Yohann, just like for his team-mate Mewen Tomac.
»
Mélanie Hénique, back to the 50m butterfly
The start of the season had been very trying for Mélanie Hénique, who had shared on social networks in January the news of the death of her brother.
“
When my brother died, I was at rock bottom.
Really, it was super hard, very emotionally gripping.
I was empty, empty, empty,
” she said.
“
Luckily Julien (Jacquier, his trainer) was there, all the staff, the group.
It allowed me to get that, to surpass myself.
I hope he is proud of me
”.
By "
looking for that
", the 29-year-old Amiens evoked her title of French champion in the 50m butterfly won in 25''62 on April 9th.
A return to his first love which offers him great prospects according to Sophie Kamoun: “
Mélanie had decided in 2018 to bet everything on the 50m freestyle because the 50m butterfly is not an Olympic event.
But she doesn't have the same experience and technical stability in freestyle that she can have in butterfly.
She finally finds her favorite event in Budapest in which she will aim for the podium, which would be a feat 11 years after her first world medal over the distance.
»
Marie Wattel, the unknown
Brilliant last season, culminating in her 6th place in the Olympic 100m butterfly final, Marie Wattel struggled to confirm this year.
As Sophie Kamoun explains: “
The question is whether Marie is able to regain her level from the last Olympics.
She was very far from it during the French Championships at the beginning of April because she resumed her season quite late and tried new things on the technical level (breathing with each butterfly movement).
But during the Mare Nostrum, a month ago, she returned to a more fluid swim and this was transcribed at the chronometric level.
She is gaining momentum and seems well sharpened physically.
By swimming 56''5, she can
»
Charlotte Bonnet, the rebirth
After more than ten years of collaboration, Charlotte Bonnet had left her trainer in Nice Fabrice Pellerin to join the emblematic Philippe Lucas in Martigues in the fall.
A welcome change after the Tokyo Games where she had swum far from her best level, eliminated in the semi-finals of the 100 and 200 m.
A change that paid off at the French Championships, notably with a title in the 200m freestyle.
“
Charlotte has suffered over the past 3 years
,” says Sophie Kamoun.
"
She did not manage to regain 1'54 as she had done in 2018, during her European title.
At the start of the season, she chose to join Philippe Lucas who believes she is capable of doing great things.
She is regaining her self-confidence and what she has shown since the start of the season is positive.
His time of 1'56''47 at the French Championships is nothing exceptional but the manner was interesting.
It also shows that she has adapted well to Philippe's training.
She still has to be patient, not be too greedy, everything she puts in place with the seriousness that characterizes her will eventually pay off.
We hope it will be in Budapest.
If this is not the case, she will have to keep in mind the reason for her exile in Martigues: to shine in Paris in 2024
.