2024 GIANT OPEN – SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE
- Saturday, March 22nd & Sunday, March 23rd
- Saint-Germain-En-Laye, France
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Central
- Entries
- SwimSwam Preview
- Day 1 Recap
- Live Results
The Giant Open Series continued today from Saint-Germain-En-Laye, France with multiple Olympians in the pool.
After taking the men’s 100m butterfly last night, 22-year-old Noe Ponti from Switzerland doubled up with a win in the 200m fly.
Ponti stopped the clock at 1:56.34 to nearly match his time from last week. In Nice, Ponti put up a time of 1:56.38 to check him in as the 26th-fastest swimmer in the world this season. His slightly quicker result this evening now moves him into position 25.
Ponti also raced the 5om fly in tonight’s session, adding another piece of hardware to his haul. Ponti notched 23.18 to top the podium ahead of Israel’s Meiron Cheruti and America’s Michael Andrew.
Cheruti settled for silver in 23.29 while Andrew wrangled up bronze in 23.33. The 2023 World Championships gold medalist in the 100m fly, Maxime Grousset, was relegated to 4th in 23.42.
Ponti’s time checks him in as the 15th-swiftest performer in the world this season.
Andrew raced again on the evening in the 100m breaststroke. He touched in a time of 1:00.22 for the victory. His season-best remains at the 59.52 earned at December’s U.S. Championships.
The trifecta of backstrokers that have monopolized the discipline’s podiums throughout this Giant Series was back at it this evening.
Swiss World Championships medalist Roman Mityukov grabbed gold in the 200m back, logging 1:57.17. That gave him a nearly one-second advantage over Mewen Tomac of the host nation who snagged silver in 1:58.13.
Yohann Ndoye-Brouard was right behind in 1:58.23 as the bronze medalist.
Mitykov took the silver in this event in Doha, putting up a time of 1:55.40.
Not done yet, Andrew also appeared in the men’s 50m back final where he collected silver in 25.24. That tied Ndoye-Brouard while Tomac topped the podium in 25,15.
On-fire Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey topped two events’ podiums to close out her winning streak.
24-year-old Harvey nabbed the top prize in the women’s 100m fly, producing a time of 58.14. That gave her a comfortable advantage ahead of Marie Wattel who nabbed 59.44 for silver while Tabatha Avetand registered 1:00.76 for bronze.
Harvey’s outing crushes the 58.61 posted last week in Nice and fell just .02 outside of her best-ever 58.12 from last month’s Quebec Cup.
Harvey’s other victim was the 200m free where she stopped the clock in 1:58.51. She represented the sole competitor of the field to dip under the 2:00 threshold.
She was much quicker in Nice where she hit 1:57.50 for gold in this event.
Additional Winners
- Russian-turned-French athlete Anastasia Kirpichnikovaz continued her distance freestyle dominance with a victory in the 800m free tonight. She touched in a time of 8:31.50 to beat the 8:32.09 she turned in last week in Nice.
- Justine Delmas, bronze medalist in the 100m breast at last year’s European Junior championships, won the 200m distance here in 2:28.27.
- Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi made his presence known last week in Nice registering a new lifetime best of 3:45.95 in the men’s 400m free. He continued his momentum here, albeit in a slower time of 3;50.12.
- Pauline Mahieu represented the sole swimmer of the women’s 100m back field to delve into sub-minute territory. Mahieu notched 59.74 to establish the 6th-best time of her field. Beryl Gastaldello was next in 1:00.00 and Mary-Ambre Moluh rounded out the podium in 1:00.18.
- Gastaldello dove back in for the women’s 50m fly, hitting a time of 25.09. That snagged the silver only .01 behind gold medalist Marie Wattel who grabbed gold in 25.08.
- Olympic bronze medalist Jeremy Desplanches of Switzerlandtouched in 4:19.00 as the men’s 400m IM winner.
- French swimmer Charlotte Bonnet cleared the women’s 50m breast field in a time of 31.57.
- No men’s 100m freestyler dipped under the 49-second barrier in tonight’s final. Grousset got to the wall first in 49.02 followed by Brazilian Marcelo Chierighini who nabbed silver in 49.26. Victor Alcara, also of Brazil, put up 49,49 for the bronze. Nans Mazellier, who took the 200m free last night, logged 49.54 for 4th and Olympic champion Florent Manaudou produced 49.76 in the event.
Michael Andrew is swimming great. So far this season he has raced long course 50 meters: 50 free 19 times, 100 fly 15 times, 50 fly 14 times, 50 back 14 times, 50 breast 12 times, 100 breast 11 times, and 200 IM 1 time. He is really getting racing experience and working hard and I hope he makes the Olympics.
That’s a lot of swimming, but wouldn’t it make sense to drop the stroke 50s now and focus on 50free, stroke 100s and 200IM until trials? Maybe even swim some 200stroke events to develop the endurance for the back half of his races.
I think he builds sprint endurance at these types of meets. He has done short course 200 events at local meets before so maybe he has already done that. Maybe swimming the 4 50’s are for the 200 IM. I hope so. He was tired on the 100 breast but swam right through it, maintained stroke form, stroke rate, and focus. I think meets will all be 50 free, 100 fly, 100 breast and hopefully 200 IM from now until Trials.
Thanks for the detailed analysis Tina. Anyone who keeps this much bookkeeping on Mandrew, of all people, has to be a family member.
I know, I know who would have thought he actually swims that many 100 events.
Yet another mediocre, classic performance by the seller of the century Michael Andrew
It’s a bit better than mediocre. MA has been dropping consistent 100BR times around 1 minute low to 59 high and 50FR times around :22 flat to 21 high throughout this series, unrested, with a lot of racing in a matter of days. His 52.3 100fly is not bad considering the circumstances. Going to toe to toe with Manadou or Grousset in France even if he gets out-touched is nothing to be ashamed of. MA should be a bit faster in San Antonio, but I doubt we’ll see him drop any really fast times like he did in 2021 until trials.
For some reason, the 200IM results are not up, but from Mary-Sophie’s instagram story, looks like she won it in a swift 2:10.29, giving her 3 wins on the night.
So happy to see her swimming well.
Michael Andrew’s 100 breast looks back on track. Wouldn’t shock me for it to be him and Fink again