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
The 2026 French Elite Championships are nearly upon us, with action kicking off Saturday, June 27th from Saint-Etienne.
Megastar Leon Marchand headlines the list of 590 entrants, with the 24-year-old Olympic champion entered in a characteristically packed schedule, this time including the 200m free, 400m free, 200m breast, 200m fly, 200m IM and 400m IM.
With the competition spanning six days, Marchand’s lineup includes one event per, save the final day of the meet which will see him double up on the 400m free and 200m IM if his schedule holds.
Leon Marchand‘s Schedule
- Day 1 – 400m IM
- Day 2 – No individual event
- Day 3 – 200m breast
- Day 4 – 200m free
- Day 5 – 200m fly
- Day 6 – 400m free & 200m IM
Marchand has already put some impressive times on the books this season, ranking 1st in the world in the 200m fly (1:52.57), 5th in the 400m IM (4:09.33), 10th in the 400m free (3:44.70), 10th in the 200m IM (1:57.28) and 12th in the 200m breast (2:09.04) from the U.S. Open and Fort Lauderdale Open.
Per the French Selection Criteria for the European Championships, swimmers must clear the following time standards for individual events:
French Qualification Standards for 2026 European Championships
| Women | Event | Men |
| 24.80 | 50 free | 22.05 |
| 54.10 | 100 free | 48.54 |
| 1:58.33 | 200 free | 1:46.88 |
| 4:10.23 | 400 free | 3:47.69 |
| 8:29.00 | 800 free | 7:50.50 |
| 16:14.00 | 1500 free | 15:01.89 |
| 27.90 | 50 back | 24.89 |
| 1:00.27 | 100 back | 53.95 |
| 2:10.89 | 200 back | 1:58.45 |
| 30.75 | 50 breast | 27.30 |
| 1:06.89 | 100 breast | 59.75 |
| 2:25.91 | 200 breast | 2:10.32 |
| 26.14 | 50 fly | 23.24 |
| 58.30 | 100 fly | 51.81 |
| 2:10.59 | 200 fly | 1:56.51 |
| 2:12.28 | 200 IM | 1:59.05 |
| 4:41.57 | 400 IM | 4:15.05 |
Although most of the host nation’s top tier of athletes are entered in this affair, we reported how 27-year-old Olympic medalist and world champion Maxime Grousset will be on the sidelines. Grousset withdrew from these championships due to a foot fracture.
Additional notable names missing from the list of participants are Anastasia Kirpichnikova and Florent Manaudou.
As a refresher, France did not send a national roster to the 2024 European Championships in Belgrade, as that year’s Olympic Trials overlapped with the international competition.
Another swimmer to watch is the young (16-year-old) Sauveur Cristofini. He just swam the 200m in 1:46.44.
In doing so, he broke the record set by Yannick Agnel when he was 17.
Sauveur Cristofini will also be a serious contender for Léon Marchand in the 400m freestyle.
Some of the key entrants are pretty unknown
its gonna be a marchand show all the way – and a bunch of side characters that are atleast better than enhanced athletes.
Curious people’s thoughts on what he’ll actually swim. I’d be extatic if he swims the 200/400 free, but also wouldn’t be surprised if he axes them due to how competitive they are on the world stage
I hope he swims the 200 Free because I remain convinced that he can do that one faster than his recorded PB.
Don’t know if he’ll try the 400 Free/200 IM double, but I’ve seen him do crazier things.
He’ll probably swim the 400 free at Euros. He wants to swim the event in LA. I hope a 3:42 at Euros. About the 200 free, I think he swims it in order to be part of the relay 4×200.
I’d be curious why he’d choose 400free over 200free? Just to not cannabalizw hobson’s chances?