2024 French Elite Championships
- June 16 – June 21
- Chartres, France
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet
- Entry List
- Results
- Live Stream
French swimmer Mewen Tomac just earned himself another national record, breaking the 200 meter backstroke record in a time of 1:55.54 at the French Elite Championships on Thursday.
The Tokyo Olympian lowered the record by .08 and set a new personal best time by .25 in a finals session at the meet. The previous record was a time of 1:55.62, set by Yohann Ndoye-Brouard in 2022, while Tomac’s previous best was a time of 1:55.79.
Tomac headed into the final as the #3 seed after posting a time of 1:58.49 during the morning session, only to blast his way to a victory. His opening 100 was a 55.93, and he was the only competitor in the field to split under 56 on the front half of the race.
The feat brings Tomac’s national record count up to three; he also holds the French record in the short course 200 meter back (1:48.55) and the short course 4×50 meter mixed medley relay (1:37.14).
Tomac’s record-setting swim solidified his position as the top backstroker in France as well as bumping him up the global rankings. His performance marks the 7th-fastest time in the world so far this season and puts him just outside of the list of all-time top 25 performers.
His victory in the 200 completed a sweep of the backstroke events for him, as he won both the 50 and 100 back earlier in the meet.
Tomac is set to swim for the University of California, Berkeley, beginning in the 2024-2025 season.
