Mewen Tomac Takes Down Men’s 200 Back French Record from 2009 with 1:49.61 in Prelims

2022 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

During the last prelims session of the 2022 Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, Mewen Tomac took down a super-suited French record in the men’s 200 back that had stood untouched since 2009.

The 21-year-old Tomac clocked a time of 1:49.61, shaving .28 seconds off the previous national record that belonged to Benjamin Stasiulis (1:49.89). Tomac also set a new lifetime best by more than half a second, improving upon his 1:50.14 from last month. He and Stasiulis are the only two Frenchmen in history to break the 1:50 barrier.

Tomac is seeded second heading into tonight’s final in between two Americans. Shaine Casas earned the top seed with a 1:49.46 while Ryan Murphy qualified third with a 1:49.71.

Tomac is eyeing his individual medal at a major international meet tonight after taking home a pair of relay medals at the European Championships in August.

MEN’S 200 BACK – PRELIMS

  • World Record: 1:45.63 – Mitch Larkin (AUS), 2015
  • World Junior Record: 1:48.02 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2017
  • Championship Record: 1:46.68 – Ryan Lochte (USA), 2010
  • 2021 Champion: 1:48.68 – Radoslaw Kawecki (POL)

Top 8:

  1. Shaine Casas (USA) – 1:49.46
  2. Mewen Tomac (FRA) – 1:49.61
  3. Ryan Murphy (USA) – 1:49.71
  4. Lorenzo Mora (ITA) – 1:49.79
  5. Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (FRA) – 1:50.12
  6. Luke Greenbank (GBR) – 1:50.34
  7. Ryota Naito (JPN) – 1:50.78
  8. Radoslaw Kawecki (POL) – 1:50.97

Tomac’s teammate, fellow Frenchman Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, nearly finished under the old national record as well. The 22-year-old Ndoye-Brouard posted a 1:50.12 to qualify fifth for the final, going .41 seconds faster than his previous best from last year’s Short Course Worlds. It’s the third-fastest time in French history behind Stasiulis and Tomac.

As the splits illustrate below, Ndoye-Brouard took the race out quicker but Tomac caught him just after the midway point of the race.

Splits Comparison, Tomac vs. Ndoye-Brouard

Mewen Tomac, Prelims Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, Prelims
25 12.18 11.95
50 13.33 13.49
75 13.78 13.44
100 13.90 14.13
125 13.96 14.17
150 14.27 14.64
175 14.25 14.48
200 13.94 13.82
Total 1:49.61 1:50.12

In This Story

0
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

0 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

About Riley Overend

Riley is an associate editor interested in the stories taking place outside of the pool just as much as the drama between the lane lines. A 2019 graduate of Boston College, he arrived at SwimSwam in April of 2022 after three years as a sports reporter and sports editor at newspapers …

Read More »