The fourth day of the European Swimming Championships proved interesting for Marie Wattel, who broke her personal record and advanced to the semi-final. It was more complicated for Charlotte Bonnet and Cloé Hache, who finished 5th with the 4x200m relay.
For this fourth day, three of the four swimmers from Nice were scheduled. In the morning session, Marie Wattel delivered a superb race, finishing 3rd in her heat with a time of 58.98 seconds. On this occasion, she broke her personal record by nearly 0.5 seconds. The 17-year-old from Nice confirmed the positive impressions about her during her second international competition, following the World Championships in Barcelona in 2013. Wattel represents the future of the French team in butterfly, a thin specialty where only Mélanie Hénique stands out, mainly in the 50m.
“I didn’t expect to swim so fast in the morning. I’m super happy to beat my personal record and qualify. Tonight, I’m going to give it my all, even if it hurts all the way to the wall,” she said after her heat.
In the semi-final, Wattel struggled and finished with the 14th time at 59.18 seconds, her second-best personal time after the one achieved this morning. A great experience that is not over yet as she is expected to compete in the 4x100m medley on Sunday.
For the youngest member of the French team, Cloé Hache, 16 years old, the discovery of the very high level continues. A freestyle specialist, she swam the heats of the 4x200m freestyle on Thursday morning. Determinative for the final selection that same evening, she achieved the 3rd time on her team (2:01.09), behind Coralie Balmy and Ophélie Cyrielle-Etienne. She was aligned again in the evening final with the contribution of Charlotte Bonnet, who was rested for the heats.
Well started by Charlotte Bonnet, the French relay long oscillated between the 3rd and 5th place after the segments swum by Ophélie Cyrielle-Etienne and Coralie Balmy, who delivered a top-level 200m. The last relay was assigned to Cloé Hache, who faltered at the end, allowing Hungary to take the 3rd place and Russia the 4th. France thus finished 5th, far behind Italy and Sweden, with Camille Muffat’s times of 1:56-1:57 sorely missed.
“The 4x200m team is in reconstruction with Coralie (Balmy) as the leader; we are moving forward slowly. It’s a relay with a future when you see Charlotte (Bonnet) is 19, Ophélie (Cyrielle-Etienne) 23, and me 16.” explained Cloé Hache after the 4x200m relay.
From our special correspondent in Berlin – Clément Bigois.
