second gold medal for the Blues thanks to Analia Pigrée
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The day after a first title acquired by Yohann Ndoye-Brouard in the 200m backstroke, the tricolor delegation collected a new title, Sunday August 14, during the European Swimming Championships, in Rome (from August 11 to 17) . As boss, Analia Pigrée won the 50m backstroke, opening the day perfectly for the Blues. Unfortunately for the tricolor delegation, neither Charlotte Bonnet in the 200m freestyle nor the men’s 4 × 100m freestyle relay managed to get on the podium.
- Gold for Analia Pigrée
She had come to hear a Marseillaise” and succeeded in its mission perfectly. The Frenchwoman Analia Pigrée offered a second title to the French team by winning the 50m backstroke in 27”27. She beat the Italian Silvia Scalia (27”53) and the Dutch Maaike De Waard (27”54) to win her first international title.
” It was intense. Competition is my thing, I swim for that, I swim to win medals, to go as high as possible. Becoming European champion is huge for me. It’s a dream come true “, described the French at the microphone of France TV Sport, a few minutes after finishing her straight line in the lead.
Compared to many other Blues, Analia Pigrée arrived in Italy with a summer medal in her luggage. In Budapest (Hungary), during the July Worlds, she had won the bronze medal, already in the 50m backstroke, only beaten by Canadian Kylie Masse and American Katharina Berkoff. ” Budapest was the first step, a revelation, for the group and for me. “She was therefore a favorite on a European scale, and assumed her status until the final.
As boss, she first set the best time in the series on Saturday morning, before dominating her semi-final, but with the second time in the entries, which did not seem to disturb her unduly in the final. A strength of character acquired in her youth, when she left Guyana and her family at the age of 16 for the hopeful pole of the National Center for Altitude Training in Font-Romeu. She finally adapted in mainland France until this European final, and will still have to do so in the future. His favorite distance, the 50m backstroke, is indeed not an Olympic discipline.
Another Frenchwoman in the running in this final, Mary-Ambre Moluh, she settled for sixth place (27”95). In Rome she was there to observe how the grown-ups do “. At only 16 years old, the swimmer from the Créteil Swimming Sports Union entered the deep end, she who had already splashed the swimming pool of the European Junior Championships in Otopeni (Romania) with her talent, in July, bringing back five medals , including three titles, culminating in a title in the 50m backstroke.
- Charlotte Bonnet has tried everything
She had set the second fastest time in her semi-final, but failed to confirm in the final. In the 200m freestyle, Charlotte Bonnet started quickly, very quickly even, and took the lead halfway through the race to try to win gold, as in 2018. But when her opponents, and in particular the Dutch Marrit Steenbergen (winner in 1’56”36), managed to accelerate, the Niçoise struggled, losing place after place to finish far from the podium, in seventh place (1’58”77).
A disappointment, but which will not erase the start of the competition for the Niçoise. She took advantage of the 100m freestyle, not necessarily her favorite discipline, to let go and enter her competition without pressure, winning a silver medal golden taste. ” It is a relief. Yes, I would have liked to win and hear The Marseillaise but frankly I can’t be too greedy, I have to be content with it. »
A year ago, Charlotte Bonnet was thinking about watching this Roman competition from her sofa. At the end of the European championships and especially the Tokyo Olympic Games (OG) concluded without a medal, the protege of Philippe Lucas had questioned her career, she who had not managed to climb on an international podium since 2018.
- French sprinters downgraded without regret
Les Bleus raced the entire relay to bring home a medal in the men’s 4x100m freestyle, but eventually finished fourth on the sidelines. A regret that would ultimately have been even greater if the Blues had managed to clinch a place on the podium, because they only kept their ranking for a very short time. A few moments later, they were indeed disqualified for a second stint by Guillaume Guth taken too early.
Qualified sixth for the final, the Blues could already be satisfied not to see the young Romanian David Popovici in the pool for the final. The country of the very recent new world record holder in the 100m freestyle (46”86) had indeed not passed the milestone of the playoffs, leaving a great opportunity for other nations, starting with the Blues and Maxime Grousset.
Silver in the 50m butterfly, but disappointed by his performance in the 100m freestyle on Saturday (4e, as at the Olympics), the native of Nouméa (New Caledonia) was keen to react, especially since he had been preserved during the relay series, which the Blues disputed with Charles Rihoux, Guillaume Guth, Thomas Piron and Julien Berol. A welcome freshness, but which was therefore not enough to bring a medal to the Blues.
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