Announced as stars at the next Olympics, swimmers Léon Marchand and Florent Manaudou are not certain of competing in the Paris Games.
From July 24 for the start of the events and the 26 for the official kick-off with the opening ceremony, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will punctuate the French summer. A grandiose spectacle that will put Paris at the center of the sporting world for a month, if we include the Paralympic Games.
But while certain swimming stars like Florent Manaudou are planning to become flag bearers of the French delegation, they are not certain of competing in the Paris Olympics because of a decision by the French Swimming Federation. In November 2023 and unlike the previous edition, the FFN indicated that the French swimmers have only one deadline to achieve the minimums, in other words the qualifying performances for the Olympics: the French championships which are contested in Chartres du June 16 to 21.
A one shot which turns out to be dangerous, because in the event of a withdrawal, a physical problem, disqualification… Some swimming stars can remain at the dock. A few days ago, Léon Marchand was disqualified from the 100m during the meeting in Irvine (California) for too heavy a first cast. Imagine if this happened during the French championships, the announced star of the Games could miss certain events.
Be careful all the same because the FFN has indicated that special cases will however be taken into account. “With regard to the rules of World Aquatics, the competition program and the selected swimmers, the possibility of participating in additional events is the decision of the Director of the French teams,” she assures. Please note that a maximum of two swimmers per event will qualify.
In the event of a tie, the series time will be taken into account. If ever a new tie arises, the best time established over the entire season will be considered. A Florent Manaudou who finishes 3rd in the 50m freestyle could therefore miss the qualification. No need to panic, because it is difficult to see the two athletes missing each other for, perhaps, the most important meeting of their careers.
Léon Marchand is particularly expected and the International Federation knows it. She has also decided to slightly modify the program for Wednesday July 31 by spacing out the finals of the 200m butterfly and the 200m breaststroke which initially took place in less than a quarter of an hour. “I read the thing and I said ‘oh yeah okay’,” explained Léon Marchand when he learned of this modification. “I talked to Bob (Bowman, his coach) about it afterwards. It’s incredible really… It’s incredible that they were able to change the program. I think they want a spectacle, a bit like the Americans So they would like me to do both races. Hopefully…