Ranked fifteenth, Charlotte Bonnet will not see the final of the 100m freestyle. Earlier, the 4x200m freestyle relay did not make it past the heats. The (re)construction will take time.
On the fifth day of competition, fatigue takes its toll. Charlotte Bonnet, who was swimming her eighth race, including relays, lacked the freshness to hope for a place in the final of the 100m freestyle. Always falling behind from the first 25 meters, she touched the wall in 54″54, half a second off her very good time in the heats. Qualification required 53″53, three-tenths better than her personal record. No regrets.
“Disappointed to finish like this”
Speaking to CanalPlus, the ONN swimmer appeared worn out: “I’m a bit tired, it’s the aftereffect of the week. Tonight, I’m paying for the 4x200m heats with the elimination that doesn’t help. I’m a bit disappointed to finish like this but it was a good week with many good times.”
Heats that left hope
Just over 12 hours after her very first Olympic final, in the 200m freestyle, the Nice native dove back into the Aquatic Stadium for the 100m heats. Charlotte Bonnet got through the brutal morning elimination round with the 10th fastest time (53″93), thirteen-hundredths off her personal best achieved in Monaco last June (53″80). Up front, the headline acts have already pulled out all the stops with Cate Campbell credited with the Olympic record (52″78).
“It’s good, it’s my best time of the morning,” Charlotte Bonnet smiled at the Canal Plus microphone. “I am happy, it’s really nice to enter the semi-finals of the 100m.”
A relay far from qualification
Competition after competition, the message remains the same: women’s swimming is being rebuilt, the team is young. While the girls succeeded in their 4x100m relay (7th in the final, French record in the heats), the 4x200m relay failed. Coralie Balmy, in the very last race of her career, started the relay well, but the youngest swimmer, Cloé Hache, swam 2’01″52, the 61st time out of the 64 entered. Too late, the relay’s chance was missed despite strong final performances from Charlotte Bonnet (1’58″15) and Margaux Fabre (1’58″50). The learning process is difficult but necessary.
