Wattel’s 56.09 Fly Split Helps France Shatter National Record in W. 4×100 Medley

2022 EUROPEAN AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, August 11 – Wednesday, August 17, 2022 (pool swimming)
• Rome, Italy
• Parco Del Foro Italico
• LCM (50m)
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 9:00 am local / 3:00 am ET
  • Finals: 6:00 pm local / 12:00 pm ET
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WOMEN’S 4X100 MEDLEY RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 3:50.40, United States – 2019 World Championships
• European Record: 3:53.38, Russia – 2017 World Championships
• European Championship Record: 3:54.01, Great Britain – 2021
• 2020 European Champion: Great Britain, 3:54.01

1. Sweden, 3:55.25
2. France, 3:56.36
3. Netherlands, 3:57.01
4. Italy, 3:57.23
5. Great Britain, 4:00.05
6. Poland, 4:02.53
7. Switzerland, 4:03.94
8. Germany, 4:05.60

France shattered their national record in the women’s 4×100 medley relay tonight en route to Silver at the 2022 European Championships in Rome. The French squad of Pauline Mahieu, Charlotte Bonnet, Marie Wattel, and Beryl Gastaldello teamed up for a 3:56.36, decimating the previous French Record of 3:59.85, which was set at the 2018 European Championships.

Notably, both Bonnet and Wattel were on both the previous record-holding relay and the relay tonight. Wattel stayed on fly duty, blowing away her 2018 split of 58.54 with a blistering 56.09 tonight. That alone made a huge difference in France breaking their record. Bonnet, on the other hand, was in an unusual position, swimming the breaststroke leg for France. A world class 100 freestyler, Bonnet split a sizzling 52.85 on the old record relay in 2018. Tonight, she flipped to breaststroke, a stroke she doesn’t typically race, and slit a very solid 1:06.49 for her team. It was a great swim from Bonnet, whose personal best in the 100 breast stands at 1:08.34.

Here is the split comparison between the previous French Record and the record set by tonight’s crew:

Pauline Mahieu was nearly a second faster than Mathilde Cini on backstroke tonight, going along with the faster breast and fly splits to put France well under their mark. Although Beryl Gastaldello‘s 53.61 anchor split was slower than Bonnet’s 52.85 from 2018, she still had the 3rd fastest free split in tonight’s field.