Masterful! Yannick Agnel dominated the 200m freestyle (1’43″14) on Monday night in London to win another gold medal.
Already a gold medalist in the 4x100m relay, the Nice native became the fourth French Olympic champion in swimming in an individual event, following Jean Boiteux (400m), Laure Manaudou (400m, 2004), and Alain Bernard (100m, 2008).
“It’s beyond my expectations. I’m thrilled,” commented the 20-year-old athlete.
Agnel had made the 200m his ultimate goal, “the race of the Games,” as he had called it for several months.
With a very strong start, Agnel led the race by simply managing his efforts. But in the last 50m, the Nice native unleashed a blistering acceleration that literally left China’s Sun Yang and South Korea’s Park Taehwanh behind, both tying for second place (1’44″93).
In dazzling form and with a sky-high morale, Yannick Agnel has yet to grasp the magnitude of his double Olympic title following his 200m victory and now stands as a potential favorite for the 100m, with the heats starting on Tuesday for a potential historic triple.
“I’m going to go at it without pressure and with a lot of pleasure,” declared the self-described “impenetrable Olympian, shark of the municipal pool.”
