French swimmer Marie Wattel is planning to move to the United States to train under Herbie Behm at Arizona State according to a post on her Instagram account.
Wattel is wrapping up 3 weeks of knee rehab in Capbreton after tearing her ACL in late 2023, with surgery knocking her out of the Olympic Games. She is now returning to her club CN Marseille, one of the top programs in France, to continue training and rehab, but says that in the next few months she plans to move to the USA and train at ASU.
Wattel says that she’s leaving Marseille because her coach Julien Jacquier chose to step away from coaching and the club decided to focus on a young men’s squad.
In November 2024, she spent time touring and hiking national parks in the western United States, a post that Herbie Behm commented on at the time.
“It was so tough mentally at the end of (223), I couldn’t even get out o bed because of the pressure I had put on myself and my body,” she said. Planning this trip may have saved my Olympic year. It helped me relieve pressure and prepare for what’s coming next after Paris 2024, no matter what.
“I thought I would be devastated without an Olympic medal. In reality, it’s not the failure itself that harms us the most; it’s our own anxiety and fears about it.
“Time heals. It offers us the chance to learn from our experiences, grow stronger, and eventually start again with a renewed sense of purpose.
“Grateful for all the valuable lessons.”
Behm has become one of the most sought-after sprint coaches in the world after training swimmers to NCAA and Olympic titles alongside his former boss Bob Bowman. Last summer, Bowman left for the University of Texas and Behm was elevated to lead the Arizona State program. While the team has not gone through a full training cycle to make any broad conclusions about his success, early returns from swimmers like Ilya Kharun, who won bronze in the 100 and 200 fly in Paris, are encouraging. Kharun recently picked up five medals at the Short Course World Championships, including individual gold in the 200 fly.
Other international-level swimmers who have moved to train with Behm since Paris include Michael Andrew, the uber-talented American who has been coached by his father for his entire career until now.
Wattel, who once trained at Loughborough University in England, says that she has always been drawn to cultures in the English speaking world. Among those she reached out to was Melanie Marshall, the British coach who is now at Griffith University in Australia.
That move was blocked as Australia has tightened up on international athletes training at their government-funded training centers.
It was the connection with her former teammate Mikkel Schreuders, who is also heading to Arizona State, that made things click for Wattel.
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner!” Wattel told SwimSwam. “I had been following Herbie Behm ever since Bob Bowman moved to Austin. I really like his philosophy and approach to training, and I think it will be a great fit.
“I’m really excited to learn, experience a new training style, and be part of a new group.”
While Wattel can’t put an exact date on her arrival because of her desire to finish rehabbing her knee, she says she’s planning to move between March and April.
Wattel, 27, is a native of Lille, France. She was the 2022 Short Course World Championships silver medalist in the 100 fly. She is also a four-time European Champion in long course, including 2020 gold in the 100 fly where she tied with Anna Ntountounaki of Greece.
Wattel holds eight French records, including the 100 fly in long course (56.14) from the 2022 World Championships. Her best finish in two Olympic Games came in 2021 in Tokyo, where she placed 6th in the 100 fly.
Wattel will arrive at Arizona State with good reference: the school’s collegiate championship team from last season was home to France’s (and the world’s) best swimmer Leon Marchand.
The article has been updated with insights from Wattel.
Maxime should go there as well
Phenomenal get for ASU… GO DEVILS!!!
Why? She a washed pro like MA. Go Cats!
Is it a “get” when it’s just a pro coming in? Some pros are very additive to a training environment and Wattel definitely could be, but that’s not always the case. Certainly raises the level of swimming for their women.
She’s a three time Olympian!
No mention of the 4 years she spent at Loughborough University in England?
It helps to read more than just the headline. Just a suggestion
The article was edited/added to. It didn’t originally mention Lufbra, Schreuders or Oz.
There was no mention of it, or Australia, when I read the original article.