Maxime Grousset Climbs To #3 In World Rankings With 47.62 100 Free At French Champs

2023 FRENCH ELITE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, June 11th – Friday, June 16th
• Rennes, France
• LCM (50m)
• World Championships Qualifier
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• Day 1 Prelims Recap / Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap / Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap / Day 3 Finals Recap
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Maxime Grousset threw down a 47.62 to win gold in the 100 freestyle at the 2023 French Elite Championships. That time is his 3rd-fastest swim in history and makes him the 3rd-fastest man in the world this season. Grousset got under the French qualifying standard for the 2023 World Championships of 48.51 by almost a full second.

Grousset’s best time in this event is a 47.52, which he swam in the men’s 4×100 freestyle final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. France went on to take 6th place in that final with Florent Manaudou (47.62), Clément Mignon (48.01), and Mehdy Metella (47.94) coming together to hit a 3:11.09. Grousset swam the 100 freestyle individually in Tokyo, posting a 48.25, 47.82, and 47.72, respectively, in prelims, semi-finals, and finals. He placed 4th overall in the event.

Grousset’s 2nd-fastest time in this event was last year in Budapest during the semi-finals of the 100 freestyle at World Championships. He swam a 47.54 for second seed before notching a 47.64 to claim the silver medal.

This is just Grousset’s third time swimming under 48 seconds in the 100 freestyle outside of an Olympic Games, World Championships, or European Championships. His other two non-major-meet 47s came in 2021 at the French Elite Championships when he swam a 47.99 in prelims and a 47.89 to win the final.

With this national title-winning swim, Grousset will likely swim this event at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. He is now the 3rd-fastest man globally during the 2022-2023 season behind Pan Zhanle of China (47.22) and world record-holder David Popovici of Romania (47.61). Popovici will be on the hunt for a repeat victory at World’s this year, having swum a 47.58 for the gold medal last year.

Grousset won the 100 freestyle by more than a second, touching ahead of Guillaume Guth‘s 48.90 for silver and Max Berg‘s 49.02 for the bronze. Fellow Olympian Florent Manaudou swam the 100 freestyle prelims, putting up a 48.12 to become the top seed before dropping out of the final. This was Grousset’s second gold medal of the meet after he won gold in the 50 fly. He has two more events on the docket this week in the 50 freestyle and the 100 butterfly.