Second day of the FFN Golden Tour meeting in Nice. Yesterday, the locals Charlotte Bonnet and Anna Santamans shone in the Jean Bouin pool. Florent Manaudou also made his mark by setting a record time in the 50-meter freestyle. Here’s a recap of Saturday’s events.
Charlotte Bonnet dominates the 100 meters
To open the session, the audience was treated to a thrilling women’s 100-meter freestyle final. On the starting blocks were 3 members of the local club, Olympic Nice Natation: Charlotte Bonnet, Anna Santamans, and Cloé Hache.
It was the former who managed to stand out. Thanks to a superb final 50 meters and the encouragement of the audience, Charlotte Bonnet outpaced the Canadian Katerine Savard. She clocked an impressive 54.62. And the people of Nice had more to celebrate as Anna Santamans finished in an admirable third place.
Charlotte Bonnet’s reactions after her race: https://on.fb.me/1PqfNEE
A 50-meter freestyle worthy of a world final
Yet, all eyes were once again on Florent Manaudou yesterday. Despite a strong lineup at the start of the 50-meter freestyle final, he emerged victorious.
Frédérik Bousquet, the former world record holder for the distance, Mehdy Metella, world champion of the 4×100 relay, and Jérémy Stravius, world and Olympic champion of the same relay, were among the competitors.
Despite the tough competition, it seems the Marseille native was in a hurry yesterday. He completed the 50 meters in 21.72, thus setting the best world performance of the year.
Lacourt secures, Stravius leads, Balmy gains confidence
Just like Florent Manaudou, Camille Lacourt was also highly anticipated. He had to fight hard to secure the win in the 100 meters backstroke. Benjamin Stasiulis, leading almost the entire race, was ultimately overtaken by Lacourt at the final moment.
Jérémy Stravius, before his 50-meter final, comfortably dominated the 200-meter freestyle. As impressive as ever with his underwater phases, the swimmer from Amiens finished ahead of Greek competitor Andreas Vazaios and Toulouse’s Lorys Bourelly.
One noteworthy performance was that of Coralie Balmy. Absent from yesterday’s 800-meter freestyle, she made a strong comeback in the 400 meters. She dominated the competition with a time of 4:05.45, also setting the world’s best mark for the distance.
Coralie Balmy’s reactions after her race: https://bit.ly/1ZUMe3f
Tomorrow is the last day of this Nice meeting, featuring a men’s 100-meter freestyle that promises to resemble a world final.
by Désiré Teivao
