2019 French Elite Nationals: All the Links You Need

2019 French Elite National Championships

• Tuesday, April 16 – Sunday, April 21, 2019
• Prelims from 9:30 am; C finals from 6 pm; A/B finals from 6:30 pm
• Piscine de Bréquigny, 12 boulevard Albert 1er, Rennes
• 50m
• Psych sheet: available here
• Results: available here

The French Elite National Championships (50m) are set to take place from Tuesday, April 16 to Sunday, April 21, 2019 in Rennes, which is in the Brittany region in northwestern France. This meet is one of two being used to select the French team for the XVIII World Championships 2019 in Gwangju, Korea. The other meet was the 2018 European Championships last summer (August 3-9, 2018) in Glasgow, Scotland.

It’s a bit complicated, but in general, the French Federation is trying to put together a team that is capable of finaling at World Championships. That means training to swim fast in the morning in order to secure a spot for semi-finals or finals, depending on the race. The Federation has played with different selection criteria over the past several World Championships and Olympic Games cycles. Under the National Technical Director (“DTN”) Claude Fauquet, there were time standards to hit in prelims, semis, and finals at French Nationals in order to make the selection for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. For the 2016 Games, that system was replaced with time standards that were 2-3% faster than FINA “A” cuts. Very few swimmers, especially among the women, made the cuts and the DTN had to go back to the well and invite those swimmers who were “close enough” to put together a team for Rio.

Now, the goal remains the same but the criteria are much clearer.

Individual event selection criteria:

• Events: men’s and women’s 50/100/200/400/800/1500 free; 50/100/200 back; 50/100/200 breast; 50/100/200 fly; and 200/400 IM.

1. Individual event medalists at 2018 European Championships in Glasgow will be proposed for the team in those events, as long as the athlete participates in the event at National Championships in Rennes in April 2019.
2. Up to two athletes will be proposed for each event, (a) if there is room left in the event after criterion 1 above has been met, and (b) if they swim the minimum time in prelims, from the table below, and then go on to finish in the top-2 in the A final of the event.

Minimum time standards to achieve in prelims

Relay event selection criteria:

Events: men’s 4×100 free, 4×200 free, and 4×100 medley; women’s 4×100 free, 4×200 free, and 4×100 medley; and mixed 4×100 free and 4×100 medley.

1. There will be different criteria for different events.
2. For the women’s 4×100 free and 4×200 free and the men’s 4×100 free: after heats at French Elite Nationals in Rennes, the 5 fastest swimmers in the 100 free or 200 free, depending on the relay, will be proposed for the Worlds team if the prelims times of swimmers #2, #3, #4, and #5 add up to, or are faster than, the relay standards in the table below.
3. If a swimmer has already qualified for Worlds individually (for having won a title at European Championships last summer), but does not participate in that event in Rennes, the 4 fastest swimmers will be proposed as long as their add-up times meet the standards in the table below.
4. For the men’s 4×200 free: after heats at French Elite Nationals in Rennes, the 4 fastest swimmers in the 200 free will be proposed for the Worlds team if their prelims times add up to, or are faster than, the relay standards in the table below. Similarly, a 5th swimmer could be added to the selection if the add-up times of #2 through #5 meet the standard below.
5. For the women’s and men’s 4×100 medley: after heats at French Elite Nationals in Rennes, the fastest swimmer out of prelims in each of the 100s that comprise the medley relay will be proposed, as long as their individual performances add up to the standards in the table below. If a swimmer already qualified in an individual 100 at Glasgow, that time can be added with the 3 other swimmers’ times to satisfy the criteria.
6. The mixed 4×100 free and 4×100 medley: the selection will be made according to what is in the best interest of the team.
7. All qualified swimmers will be eligible for relays.
8. The DTN (National Technical Director) has ultimate discretion.

Relay Time Standards

Complementary Events

1. Swimmers selected for one or more individual events, as long as they participate in the event(s) for which they qualify at Worlds, may possibly enter one complementary event, as long as there are spots available, and as long as it’s in the team’s interest.
2. Relay-only swimmers may possibly enter one complementary event if no other swimmer qualified for that event, and as long as it’s in the team’s interest.
3. The DTN (National Technical Director) has ultimate discretion.

Qualified individually for Gwangju: