2026 FRENCH ELITE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Saturday, June 27th – Thursday, July 2nd
- Piscine Raymond Sommet, Saint-Etienne, France
- LCM (50m)
- French Selection Criteria for European Championships
- Meet Central
- Event Schedule
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- SwimSwam Meet Preview
- SwimSwam Recaps
There is just one day left of the 2026 French Elite Championships, and day 5 saw just one man added to the roster for this summer.
Here’s a quick rundown of the selection procedure for this meet before we get into the roster update after the 5th day.
- The top four swimmers at the meet may be selected to the meet, provided they earn the French qualifying standard in the ‘A’ final at the French Elite Championships
- Subject to availability, athletes who swam qualifying times at the French Junior Championships may be selected to the team
- For the women’s, men’s, and mixed freestyle relays, selection will be proposed for the top four swimmers from the A-final whose combined individual performances meet the required relay time. The times recorded in the heats may be considered to validate the relay time.
Only one men’s event had any athletes swim under the qualifying time, the 1500 freestyle. Sacha Velly won the event in 14:51.23, finishing 12 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, and touching 10 seconds under the QT of 15:01.89.
The men’s 100 backstroke was supposed to race this evening as well, and there could have been additional qualifiers from the event, but a malfunction led to the ‘A’ final being contested tomorrow instead, meaning there were only two men’s events tonight.
On the women’s side, only the 50 freestyle had any qualifiers. The top three finishers, Mary-Ambre Moluh (24.68), Analia Pigree (24.73), and Marie Wattel (24.79) all swam under the qualifying time of 24.80. They were all qualified for the meet already, so they added the event to their lineups.
Wattel currently has the most events of any athlete, qualifying in four individual events — the 50 free, 100 free, 50 fly, and 100 fly.
Women’s Individual Qualifiers
- Bertille Cousson (200 backstroke)
- Beryl Gastaldello (100 freestyle, 50 backstroke, 100 backstroke)
- Marie Wattel (100 freestyle, 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly, 50 freestyle)
- Albane Cachot (50 butterfly)
- Mary-Ambre Moluh (50 backstroke, 100 backstroke, 50 freestyle)
- Analia Pigree (50 backstroke, 50 freestyle)
- Pauline Mahieu (100 backstroke)
Men’s Individual Qualifiers
- Leon Marchand (400 IM)
- Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (200 backstroke)
- Antoine Herlem (200 backstroke)
- Mewen Tomac (200 backstroke)
- Nathan Muratory (200 backstroke)
- Carl Aitkaci (50 breaststroke)
- Sauveur Cristofini (200 freestyle)
- Roman Fuchs (200 freestyle)
- Sacha Velly (1500 freestyle)
Women’s Potential Relay Qualifiers
- Mary-Ambre Moluh (400 FR)
- Albane Cachot (400 FR)
- Chloe Braun (400 MR)
Men’s Potential Relay Qualifiers
- Carl Aitkaci (400 MR)
- Amaury Arbal (400 MR)
- Pierre Largeron (800 FR)
- Neo Dutriaux (800 FR)
Potential Junior Qualifiers
- Nathan Muratory (100 backstroke/200 backstroke)
- Sauveur Cristofini (200 freestyle)
- Jeanne Lechevalier (50 backstroke)
