The World Championships in Kazan concluded this Sunday without a single individual final for ONN’s swimmers. A year ahead of the Rio Olympics, the young group led by Fabrice Pellerin has learned and gained valuable experience. It’s time for action in the medium term.
The least one can say is that the road to Rio is long. Charlotte Bonnet, Anna Santamans, Marie Wattel, and Cloé Hache have 361 days to be ready. You might ask, ready for what exactly? To get into “Olympic mode”? Yes. To win medals? That will depend on the gap bridged throughout the year and each swimmer’s best performances. In any case, to qualify for an Olympic final, often slightly more competitive than a World Championship final, there is work to be done.
But no need to panic, it bears repeating that this group, expertly guided by Fabrice Pellerin, has an average age of just 19. The Rio Olympics may seem close for these swimmers, but high-level competitions and meets will follow one after another. This will provide experience, the opportunity to swim with the best, and to fight for the thousandths, hundredths, and even tenths of seconds that will make the difference someday.
Decent end to the competition
On Saturday, Anna Santamans made it through the preliminary rounds with the 10th time, clocking in at 24.90 seconds, but wasn’t able to improve on that time in the evening. The result was 24.93 seconds and a 13th place in the semi-finals. To advance, she would have needed to break Malia Metella’s French record, which is not an easy feat. That’s somewhat the summary of the Russian week: good, if not great, times, but not enough to make it to a final. Swimming fast in the morning heats and even faster in the evening semi-finals requires extreme concentration and an effort at 110% of one’s capabilities.
This Sunday, the final day of competition, there was no miracle for the French 4x100m medley relay team, but a small satisfaction. With the 12th fastest time in the heats, they missed out on the final by over a second, but this relay team qualified for the Olympics, just like the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays did earlier in the week. In this relay, all the Nice swimmers played their part alongside Béryl Gastaldello, Mathilde Cini, and Coralie Balmy. Three relay qualifications provide a small smile for these World Championships. It’s also an opportunity for this group and for Fabrice Pellerin, the swimmers’ coach, to build on this with desire and determination.
And if we are to believe the photo, Charlotte Bonnet and the entire Nice team already have their sights set on Rio.
Photo credit: Fédération Française de Natation / KMSP/ S.KEMPINAIRE
