At the end of the World Swimming Championships, the French team leaves with 4 gold medals.
They made an appointment in a year, in Paris, for the Olympics. Léon Marchand and Maxime Grousset were the locomotives of this French swimming team with 6 medals in total for the two swimmers, including 4 gold. It is quite simply a record edition for the French delegation which had never taken part in a World Cup with titles. Problem, of the 21 swimmers in competition, only 2 left with medals and the French women’s team achieved a zero point, quite worrying for the future. “Even if we did not achieve all the performances we expected, the results are positive, judge Julien Issoulié, the technical director of French swimming. There were extraordinary performances, like Léon or Maxime.
Voted best swimmer at these Worlds, Léon Marchand confirmed that he would be one of the greatest swimmers of all time. In the 400m medley, he smashed Michael Phelps’ world record, prompting applause from the Goat commentator’s booth. In the 200m butterfly, he made short work of the American Foster when he didn’t have to force his talent to win the 200m medley. On the other hand, a little disappointment not to have seen him galvanize the French team in the relay. “He always has this fluidity. He is very cool, very relaxed. He lives really well with others and brings this freshness. After Fukuoka, we will also be able to realize that Léon brings something new. The fact of being exemplary in everything he does, I think it catalyzes the whole group a bit” explained Julien Issoulié.
Silver, bronze, and finally gold! Often on the box, the swimmer from New Caledonia finally won an individual gold medal and in the most beautiful way by winning the 100m butterfly final with ease. To this must be added the bronze medals in the 50m butterfly and the 100m freestyle.
Olympic champion, world champions… Florent Manaudou totally missed out on the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka. On the relay at the start of the competition, but especially on the 50m, the captain of this French team finished very far from the best. “He was simply not there [at the time of the final]” judge Jacco Verhaeren who is not worried about his captain, capable “of doing great things in a year in Paris”.
We also cannot talk about these 2023 Worlds without Queen Sarah Sjostrom. The Swede was crowned world champion in the 50m freestyle on Sunday July 30 and brought a 12th individual world title to her list. But, with a 21st medal, she is above all ahead of Michael Phelps and now sits alone at the top of the world hierarchy.
The 2024 World Swimming Championships will be held in January 2024 near Doha in Qatar.
