Olivier & OW Newcomer Kirpichnikova Impress At French Open Water C’ships

2020 FRENCH OPEN WATER CHAMPIONSHIPS

• September 25th – September 28th
• Jablines, France,
• OW
• Results
  • 5k
  • 25k
  • 10k

The 2020 French Open Water Championships concluded in Jablines, with the fields limited in the number of participants due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Although this competition was not a selection contest for any immediate elite international competition, it was a valuable opportunity for racers to shake off the cobwebs in their forward march to next year’s Olympic Games.

Stéphane Lecat, Director of Free Water at the French Swimming Federation, said at the onset of the 4-day affair,  “These Championships are a great opportunity for open water swimmers from French clubs. They will allow, for some, the ability to dive back into the world of competition and, for others, to continue the journey of excellence in which they are committed.”

24-year-old Marc-Antoine Olivier won the men’s 10k open water race, beating out the next-closest competitor Fares Zitouni by about 4 seconds.

Of his swim, Olivier stated, “ I swam well on the last lap, but the race was difficult! I was not specially prepared for this 10 km.

“We only eased off these last days. It was still important to get this title, also to see how I was going to be able to adapt and find solutions to finish ahead despite fatigue. This is open water!” Olivier also won the men’s 5k at these championships.

Olivier has qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games already via his performance at the 2019 World Championships.

As for the women’s 10k, 20-year-old Anstasia Kirpichnikova pulled off another victory, following up her win at the Russian Open Water Championships just earlier this month.

Here in France, Kirpitchnikova got to the time pad about 2 seconds ahead of French woman Oceane Cassignol, who claimed the French title. Rounding out the top 3 was Brazilian open water icon Ana Marcela Cunha, who won the 5k at this competition.

Going back to Kirpichnikova, the Russian Open Water Championships marked the first time the freestyle ace had raced an open water event. She raced in the pool at the 2019 World Championships, contesting the women’s 800m and 1500m freestyle events in Gwangju. She missed the final in each, placing 16th and 15th, respectively.

We reported earlier this month how she is now hoping to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in both the pool and open water swimming.

In her plans she has the right man leading her: Frenchman Philippe Lucas, who trained Sharon van Rouwendaal to an Olympic gold medal in the 10km open water swim in Rio in 2016. While training for open water, van Rouwendaal was able to maintain pool success as well – a year earlier at the 2015 World Championships, she took silver in the 400 free in the pool.

The additional race results are below:

Women’s 5k Top 10:

1. CUNHA Ana Marcela [4] 1992 BRA 0 h 57:05.27
2. CASSIGNOL Oceane [8] 2000 FRA MONTPELLIER METROPOLE NATATION 0 h 58:47.60 55 pts
3. KIRPITCHNIKOVA Anastassia [17] 2000 RUS MONTPELLIER METROPOLE NATATION 0 h 58:48.97 51 pts
4. MULLER Aurélie [2] 1990 FRA CN SARREGUEMINES 0 h 58:51.27 49 pts
5. GRANGEON-DE VILLELE Lara [1] 1991 FRA AAS SARCELLES NATATION 95 0 h 59:01.78 47 pts
6. AREVALO Samantha [86] 1994 ECU EQUATEUR 0 h 59:03.00
7. CATTEAU Madelon [79] 2003 FRA DAUPHINS TOULOUSE OEC 0 h 59:03.02 46 pts
8. CABON Lean [7] 2002 FRA CN BREST 0 h 59:24.48 45 pts
9. CALVO Emma [9] 2004 FRA AC HYÈRES 0 h 59:26.91 44 pts
10. KUNTZMANN Marie [80] 1999 FRA DAUPHINS TOULOUSE OEC 0 h 59:30.42 43 pts