With a personal record on the 200m in Canet and a strong performance on the 100m in Monaco this Sunday, Charlotte Bonnet confirms her good form since the French Championships. The Nice native can aim for the world medal this summer in Russia.
“Everything is falling into place,” is how Fabrice Pellerin analyzes the week and also the current year of the young woman from Nice. Since the disappointing European Championships last summer in Berlin, Charlotte Bonnet has evolved significantly. At 19, she was not ready to take on the status of a leading figure in French swimming. Yet, less than 10 months later, many things have changed. Without dwelling on the tragedy that affected her, the Nice native has reached and even surpassed a new level.
Winning five titles at the French Championships, credited with good races during the meets in Nice, Marseille, and Amiens, Charlotte Bonnet has gradually built a 2015 season with a specific goal: the World Championships in Kazan (Russia) from August 2 to 9.
Despite a “quite significant” workload cycle according to Fabrice Pellerin, the young woman from Nice is delivering performances at a world level. Last week, in Canet-en-Roussillon, Bonnet broke her personal record in the 200m freestyle (1’56”16 and 1’58”50 in the morning heats), allowing herself the luxury of beating Olympic medalists such as Femke Heemskeerk and Katinka Hosszu. She even moved up to the fifth rank in the world.
This weekend, at the Mare Nostrum in Monaco, replacing the Rome meet (due to flight issues), the Nice native confirmed her good form. Defeated in the 200m freestyle, she clocked a good 1’57”36 (1’59”26 in the heats). This Sunday, despite fatigue, Bonnet finished second in the 100m freestyle in 54”12 (54”96 in the heats) while her coach expected her to be around 54’4-54’5. Next stop, in three weeks at the French Open, held in Vichy. But Kazan is definitely in the minds of Charlotte Bonnet and Fabrice Pellerin.
As proof of the work that remains before the major event in August, Fabrice Pellerin concludes with a “pool tomorrow at 8 a.m.” to his protégés. It’s this kind of dedication that wins a world medal.
Photo credit: FFN
