The headliner of Olympic Nice Natation, Charlotte Bonnet, delivered a strong weekend in Amiens, the second stage of the Golden Tour – Camille Muffat. Anna Santamans improved all her times, and Marie Wattel is making progress. There’s some improvement for Cloé Hache, who still struggles in the morning heats.
With four podium finishes including one victory, the three days in Amiens were successful for Charlotte Bonnet on paper. Delving into the details of the performances, it was a high-quality weekend. In her favorite distance, the 200m freestyle, the Nice native won in 1:56.73, which is 0.8 seconds better than two weeks ago in Nice. Most importantly, it’s a time that could allow her to secure her ticket for the Rio Olympic Games (qualification standard 1:56.78). For this, she will need to achieve the same time, or better, at the French Championships in Montpellier at the end of March.
Green almost everywhere
Other highlights include two second-place finishes in the 50m breaststroke (32.08, which is 0.08 seconds better than in Nice) and 100m freestyle (54.37, slower than in Nice) behind the formidable Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjöström. In the 400m freestyle, Fabrice Pellerin’s student finished third in 4:12.83, which is 3 seconds better than during the home meet. She celebrated these performances on her Facebook page: “A rather good weekend in Amiens ending with an encouraging 100m freestyle and a nice time in the 200m freestyle. Back to work today, more motivated than ever,” not forgetting the traditional message for Camille Muffat after her 200m freestyle time: “this one was for you” with a heart emoji.
Santamans shifts up a gear
Already showing good times at the first Nice stage, Anna Santamans shone again in Amiens with three podiums, including one victory, and notably three improved times. The short-distance specialist won the 50m freestyle in 24.95 (0.07 seconds better than in Nice) without forgetting a gain of three-tenths in the heats, which is significant. Maxime Leutenegger’s student took 3rd place in the 100m freestyle in 54.93, lowering her Nice time by almost 0.9 seconds. We should not forget the 3rd place in the 50m butterfly (26.61).
Wattel showing clear progress
Butterfly swimmer Marie Wattel showed good form with two podium finishes in the 100m butterfly (2nd in 1:00.19, 0.7 seconds more than in Nice) and the 200m butterfly, where she set her season’s record, lowering her time by one and a half seconds. She also took 4th place in the 50m butterfly and 5th in the 50m freestyle with encouraging times.
As for the group’s youngest, she achieved three season-best performances (50m butterfly, 200m, and 400m freestyle) but twice had to compete in the B finals (9th-16th morning times). Her best race of the weekend was the 200m freestyle with a 5th place finish and a time of 2:00.15, 1.40 seconds better than in Nice.
The next meeting for Fabrice Pellerin’s group is scheduled for the weekend of March 4-5-6 in Marseille for the Open Mediterranean Meet.
