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
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French superstar swimmer Leon Marchand felt pain in his hip adductor during prelims of the 200 breaststroke on Monday at the French National Championships, according to National Technical Director Denis Auguin.
The hip adductor is a group of muscles used primarily in bringing the thighs together. In breaststroke, this will most often flare in the insweep at the end of the kick.
The tweak caused him to shut his race down, cruising to a 2:16.16, which put him in 9th place and out of the 8 swimmer final.
Auguin says that Marchand is receiving treatment and that they are awaiting more information about the severity of the injury and what it means for the rest of his meet.
Marchand is the defending Olympic Champion in the 200 breast, along with the European and Olympic Record holder.
Marchand opened his race in 1:02.40, about a second-and-a-half better than the field, but his final 50 meter split of 38.70 was among the slowest in the event.
Earlier in the meet, Marchand swam 4:04.56 in the 400 IM, the 5th-best performance in history and one he called a “surprise.” He then had a day off before Monday’s 200 breaststroke, where he was in cruise control early.
Marchand still had a chance at swimming in the A-Final after a scratch from the 5th qualifier Carl Aitkaci, but Marchand later withdrew from the race anyway to take caution with the injury.
The top qualifier is Lucien Vergnes in 2:12.23.
In mid-April, Marchand’s American coach Bob Bowman said that he hadn’t been training much breaststroke, but that his technique remained solid. At the Pro Swim Series in Westmont in early March, he swam 2:10.06 in the 200 breast, followed by a 2:09.04 at the Ft. Lauderdale Open in early May.
Marchand is still scheduled to swim the 200 fly, 200 free, and 400 free later in the meet, pending the status of his injury. Because he is already confirmed to the team in the 400 IM, French selection criteria allows him to opt in to additional races if there are not already four qualifiers from the French National Championships – which is unlikely based on the time standards:
- 200 breast – 2:10.32
- 200 fly – 1:56.51
- 200 free – 1:46.88
- 400 free – 3:47.69
Yikes, hope this just needs some rest, and he’ll be fine otherwise. I heard him say in an interview that he wouldn’t do both events on the final day, and would pick one. Just pick the 400 Free and avoid breaststroke for the time being. Crossing my fingers.
Curious as to why he wouldn’t be training much breaststroke lately?
Yep, I’ve had that before. Usually end up not doing breaststroke kick for a week or so to make sure it all heals OK.
Dammit.