Kirpichnikova Becomes 1st Frenchwoman to Qualify for 400 Free Internationally Since 2016

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The last woman to represent France in the LCM 400 freestyle at a major international meet was Coralie Balmy back at the Rio 2016 Olympics, where she placed eighth in the final (4:06.98). But that seven-year drought is now set to be snapped after newly-minted French citizen Anastasia Kirpichnikova qualified for the 400 free at next month’s World Championships in Fukuoka with a time of 4:08.70 at the French Championships on Sunday.

Kirpichnikova, a 22-year-old native of Russia, was only just cleared to represent France on the international stage last week. She has been training in France for the past four years under coach Philippe Lucas, who has worked with Olympic medalists such as Sharon von Rouwendaal, Marc-Antoine Olivier, and Laure Manaudou.

Kirpichnikova was a couple seconds off her best time (4:06.26) from the 2021 Russian Championships, but she still cleared the French qualifying time of 4:09.14 and became the fifth-fastest Frenchwoman of all time in the process.

Top French Performers, 400-Meter Freestyle

1. Camille Muffat – 4:01.13 (2012)
2. Laure Manaudou – 4:02.13 (2006)
3. Coralie Balmy – 4:03.29 (2009)
4. Ophelie-Cyrielle Etienne – 4:04.54 (2009)
5. Anastasia Kirpichnikova – 4:08.70 (2023)
6. Sophie Huber – 4:09.80 (2007)
7. Charlotte Bonnet – 4:09.89 (2014)

Kirpichnikova actually placed second in the championship final behind 25-year-old Russian Anna Egorova, who was a tenth of a second off her season-best 4:07.41 from April’s Russian Championships. Egorova’s lifetime best from 2021 still stands as the Russian national record (4:04.10). Egorova clocks in as the 26th-fastest performer in the world so far this year while Kirpichnikova ranks 31st.

WOMEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• French Record: 4:01.13, Camille Muffat (2012)
• World Championships ‘A’ Cut: 4:10.57
• France’s Qualifying Time for Fukuoka: 4:09.14

Top 8:

1. Anna Egorova – 4:07.51
2. Anastasia Kirpichnikova – 4:08.70
3. Cyrielle Duhamel – 4:09.74
4. Lucile Tessariol – 4:10.36
5. Valentine Leclercq – 4:16.51
6. Lisa Pou – 4:17.60
7. Lean Cabon – 4:17.66
8. Alexa Reyna – 4:19.76

Kirpichnikova already qualified for both the 5km and 10km open water events at Worlds during the Martinique Open in April. She could still qualify for Worlds in the 800 free and 1500 free at this week’s French Championships. Her lifetime bests in those events, both Russian national records from the Tokyo 2021 Olympics (8:18.77 and 15:50.22, respectively), are faster than the current French records.

In Tokyo, Kirpichnikova became the first Russian woman to participate in pool and open water swimming at the Olympics. She was a finalist in both the 800 and 1500 free, placing eighth and seventh, respectively, after swimming significantly faster times in the prelims (that would’ve finished fourth and fifth in the final).

Later that year at the 2021 Short Course World Championships, which marked her last time representing Russia internationally, Kirpichnikova collected a silver medal in the 800 free (8:06.44).