Meeting National du Nantes
- Saturday, January 23rd – Sunday, January 24th, 2021
- Nantes, France
- Long Course Meters (50m)
- Start Lists
Racing at the 2021 Meeting National du Nantes will get underway this weekend in France. The two-day meet will host a total of 97 swimmers from across the country.
The highest-profile athlete racing this weekend will be Olympic medalist Jérémy Stravius. Stravius announced his retirement from the sport back in January of this year but will be making his return to the pool this weekend.
Stravius is entered as top seed in the 50 freestyle with a 22.94, the 100 freestyle with a 48.79, and the 50 butterfly with a 23.58. Stravius’ most recent international meet was the 2019 World Championships where he raced the 50 backstroke individually for France, finishing in 11th in the semi-finals with a 24.98. He also swam in the 100 freestyle where he, Clement Mignon, Tom Pace Pedroni, and Mehdy Metella raced to an 8th place finish with a 3:13.34.
Stravius tells SwimSwam not to read too much into his racing this weekend, that he’s swimming “for fun” and “to help (his) club.”
Also swimming this weekend is Maxence Orange who recently earned a bronze medal in the 50 backstroke at the 2020 French Elite Championships in December. There, he swam to a 25.51 for third. This weekend, Orange is entered in the 50/100/200 backstrokes, the 50/100 freestyles, and the 100 butterfly.
Carl Aitkaci will swim the 50 and 100 breaststroke double this weekend, entered as 1st seed in both. In the 50 he’ll go in with a 27.83 and in the 100 a 1:01.39. Those seed time for Aitkaci come from last month at the 2020 French Elite Championships where he won a silver medal in the 50 breast and a bronze in the 100.
On the women’s side, Angeline Tregoat is entered as top seed in the 200 IM (2:23.13) and third in 400 (5:16.08). Tregoat was 7th in the B final last month at the French Elite Championships.
Alexe Herthe, Emma Lialy, and Jeanne Boutbien are set for a tight race in the 50 freestyle. The top three seeds will each lead the way in their respecitve heats with only half a second separating their entry times. Herthe will go in with a 26.54, Lialy with a 26.81, and Boutbien with a 27.04.