2020 FRENCH ELITE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, December 10th – Sunday, December 13th
- Saint-Raphaël, France in this
- LCM (50m)
- Olympic Qualifying Meet
- French Olympic Qualifying Procedures
- SwimSwam Preview
- Start Lists
- Day 1 Prelims Recap
- Live Results
While competing on day 1 of the 2020 French Elite Championships, 18-year-old Leon Marchand broke through with a bronze medal in the men’s 100m fly. Posting a time of 52.89, Marchand not only scorched his own previous lifetime best of 53.70 from March of last year, but he also established a new French Age Record for 18-year-olds.
Splitting 24.67/28.22 in this final, Marchand dipped under the 53-second threshold for the first time in his young career. His result of 52.89 makes him the fastest Frenchman ever at his age, overtaking the previous national age standard of 53.02 the present senior national record holder Mehdy Metella put on the books over a decade ago.
Metella took the men’s French title tonight in a time 52.86, although visiting Swiss swimmer Jeremy Desplanches actually got to the wall first in a mark of 52.44. Marchand, Metella, and Desplanches represented the only swimmers under 53 seconds tonight.
Marchand owns multiple French age records on his rise through the ranks and is now settling in as a senior swimmer. The teen is set to compete stateside for the Arizona State University Sun Devils next year.
Last summer, he won the French senior national title in the 200 fly and earned two medals at European Junior Championships. He has represented the France National Team at the European Short Course Championships, Junior Worlds, Euro Juniors, and Mare Nostrum.
