Santamans Breaks One, Manaudou Tallies 3rd Record on Last Day of French SC Nationals

The French short course national championships wrapped up in Montpellier on Sunday, drawing to a close four days of fast swimming. Full results available here.

Day One Highlights (Day One coverage)

The national meet kicked off on Thursday with great performances from Clément Mignon, Mehdy Metella, Sharon van Rouwendaal, Charlotte Bonnet, and Florent Manaudou. Manaudou won the 50 free with the world’s fifth-fastest time, yet still about 6/10 shy of Amaury Leveaux’s 2008 national record

Day Two Highlights (Day Two coverage)

Mélanie Henique led a slew of record-breaking swims, getting under the French mark in the 50 fly with 25.33. Manaudou followed that up with a national record of his own: 22.98 in the 50 back. Belgian Fanny Lecluyse broke her national record in the 200 breast, going 2:21.07. Although Bonnet by .7 to Hungary’s Evelyn Verraszto in the 100 IM, her 59.97 time was still good enough to break the French national record by 1/100. Metella won a much-anticipated showdown against Mignon and Yannick Agnel in the 100 free. And Van Rouwendaal continued her dominance in the women’s distance races with a victory in the 800.

Day Three Highlights

Saturday began with the 1500s. Netherlands’ Van Rouwendaal (15:48.67) dominated the field once again, as France’s Lara Grangeon (16:07.68) and Coralie Codevelle (16:12.26) finished second and third. The men’s race showcased emerging French talent with a podium finish for Nicolas D’Oriano, whose 14:54.82 broke the record for 17yo boys. Placing ahead of him in first and second were Anthony Pannier (14:39.31) and Joris Bouchaut (14:43.55), respectively.

In the women’s 50 back, event winner Mathilde Cini set a meet record of 27.09. Pauline Mahieu, who qualified for the A final, broke the mark for 15yo girls in prelims with 28.52.

Tanguy Lesparre broke the 50 breast record for 15yo boys in the C (14-18yo) final by .20, going 29.29. Manaudou followed that up with a national record, winning the championship final in 26.11. That was .18 faster than the record he had set in Chartres in 2012. His Marseille teammate Giacomo Perez Dortona took second with 26.56. Belgium’s Lecluyse (1:06.26) took the 100 breast easily over Bonnet (1:07.22) and Adeline Williams (1:07.26).

Eddie Moueddene won the 100 IM in 53.57. Agnel (54.10) finished second, just .07 in front of Italy’s Andrea Bolognesi. Two junior records went down in the IM: rising star Jean Dencausse demolished a 2002 record for 17yo boys, clocking a 54.71 (the old mark was 55.64). Tanguy Lesparre won the C final with a new 15yo record of 57.24, eclipsing a 2012 mark of 58.89.

Marie Wattel won the women’s 100 fly with a new record for 17yo girls with 57.80, well under the old 58.37. In the B final, Solweig Picault set a new mark for 14yo girls with 1:01.43. The old 1:02.04 had been set by Wattel in 2011. Jordan Coehlo won the men’s 200 fly title by over a body length, finishing in 1:53.80. Arthur Cachot set a new boys 14yo mark in the C final, going 2:06.52 and taking down a 2010 record of 2:08.93.

Van Rouwendaal completed her distance free sweep with a 4:01.36 win in the 400. Trailing by quite a margin were Bonnet (4:05.82) and Ophélie-Cyrielle Etienne (4:06.80).

The return of Camille Lacourt, finally free of pain in his hip, was on display in his 51.48 victory in the 100 back. The next generation of backstrokers made its presence known: Kryls Miatti lowered his own 16yo record of 55.32 with 54.71 in prelims; he then broke the 17yo record of 54.30 with his 54.00 in finals. Mickael Fortier went 58.38 in prelims to take down the week-old record for 14yo boys of 58.55.

Day Four Highlights

Anna Santamans got things cracking on Sunday with a new French national record in the 50 free, going 24.24. She had held the previous record of 24.35 since 2012. The new 50 fly recordholder, Henique, touched second in 24.53.

Manaudou set his third national record of the weekend with a 22.09 in the 50 fly. He lowered his own mark, set at last year’s short course championships in Dijon, by 2/100. Metella placed second with 22.63; Coelho was third in 23.54.

Van Rouwendaal dropped 5 seconds from her seed time and broke a Netherlands record in the 400 IM with 4:33.15, taking down Femke Heemskerk’s 4:33.88 from October. France’s Lara Grangeon had a huge swim, lopping nearly four seconds off her seed time. Grangeon was leading after the breaststroke leg but couldn’t match Van Rouwendaal’s strong freestyle finish.

In the 200 breast, Belgium’s Jonas Coreelman was the winner by 3/100 over Dencausse, who lowered his own 17yo mark (which was 2:08.85) by 1.7 seconds in his second-place finish. Dencausse was out fast, in 1:00.8; Coreelman had the stronger last 50 by .15 and wound up winning 2:07.09 to 2:07.12. Lesparre rewrote the recordbooks for 15yo boys (2:16.03) with his 2:14.79.

The women’s 200 free was a nailbiter from start to finish with the top four only separated by .9 at the touch. Essentially trading stroke for stroke and turning together at every wall, it wasn’t until the last 50 that they separated. Hungary’s Verraszto won in 1:55.52, a mere .02 in front of Bonnet. Cloé Hache was third in 1:55.88, and Margaux Fabre, fourth with 1:56.44.

The men’s 200 free was far less eventful.Mignon went 1:42.09, topping Jordan Pothain by 3.8 seconds and Bouchaut by 4.

The last individual race put Cini on top of the podium for a second time; she won the 200 back with 2:08.02. Grangeon was second in 2:10.28 and Mathieu rounded out the podium with 2:11.82.