This weekend, the Jean-Bouin pool in Nice hosted a stage of the Golden Lanes. It was an opportunity for swimmers to test themselves against quite a competitive field for the beginning of the year.
Jérémy Stravius, Camille Muffat, Charlotte Bonnet… The (French) stars were not missing this weekend for one of the first competitions of the year. While the French did not disappoint, one swimmer particularly left her mark on the competition. It was Katinka Hosszu who won nine out of the ten races she participated in. Only the 50 m butterfly eluded her as she finished third behind Mélanie Henique and Camille Muffat.
But the Hungarian swimmer was impressively easy and successful, notably in the 50 m freestyle where she broke the Hungarian record. Incredible performances considering that this was just a restart meeting after the winter break.
The pool in Nice also welcomed Ruta Meilutyte. The Lithuanian had won the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the 100 m breaststroke. A distance she obviously dominated this weekend, leaving nearly two seconds behind her competitors.
And what about the French? Generally happy. Happy with their performances but especially to have been able to compete against such a lineup. Fabrice Pellerin, coach at Olympic Nice Natation, notes that the swimmers are in a “training cycle because it’s winter. It’s tricky to have expectations, and one must do one’s best in this kind of meets”. Such meets, as he says, are especially interesting because they allow athletes to break away from the routine of training and get into the rhythm of competition.
While these competitions never yield extraordinary results at this time of year, Camille Muffat thinks that such a field gives a “little foretaste of the European Championships” which will take place this summer in Berlin. Because, in three days of competition, many races take place, and as a start-up, swimmers want to compete as much as possible. This is the case for Camille Muffat, who participated in several events and was satisfied with her races: “It’s good to compete with girls specializing in what I don’t usually do. It allows me to break from my routine of the 400 m. The challenge is much bigger than chaining 400s. It adds difficulty in addition to being in a recovery phase.”
But one can feel it’s a restart, as demonstrated by Jérémy Stravius. On Friday, he won his two races, but the next day, he had to withdraw because he was ill. However, being a competitor at heart, he wanted to be present on Friday: “I wanted to swim even if I wasn’t in top form. It’s good to have competition, it pushes us to seek the best. It helps for major championships.”
Charlotte Bonnet, confirms the general thought: “The important thing is not to swim fast. It’s good to try something other than your specialties; it allows for variety. We’re in the middle of the preparation period, and it’s proof that I’m training well.” This Nice meet attracted many specialists, which is always ideal at the beginning of the season.
It’s a pity that there was a lack of public attendance, especially on Friday when the stands were notably empty. On Sunday, the meet suffered from comparison with the Ligue 1 match between Nice and Lille.
But the goal wasn’t to offer a spectacle in the stands, but rather for the swimmers to train as best as possible at the beginning of the year through the organization of such a meet. This meet is constantly progressing. Previously, it resembled an inter-regional meet and today, it was clear: it was an international meet. An evolution that certainly delights Richard Papazian, the president of ONN: “The goal is for swimmers to maintain a good level in preparation for Rio in 2016.” With such meets on offer, there is no doubt that the swimmers will continue to evolve.
