Pauline Mahieu and Analia Pigrée won two new tickets for the Worlds in December, in Budapest, when the women's relay dominated the 4x50m medley. A memorable day.
Difficult to say if this Saturday, November 2, is a historic day for Canet 66 swimming, but it is close. The great momentum of the first two days of competition at the French short course championships in Montpellier continued. And how! Big names have confirmed, when young people continue to reveal themselves.
And this Saturday, it was Pauline Mahieu and Analia Pigrée who showed the way. They are the first to have won medals, in the women's 100 backstroke. After dominating the series, Analia Pigrée, already French champion in the 50m backstroke, took bronze in the final, behind Beryl Gastaldello, in gold, and therefore Pauline Mahieu. The Canétoise had already experienced great emotion the day before, becoming French champion in the 200m backstroke and winning her ticket for the World Championships in Budapest next December. This time, she takes the money, but she also pockets a ticket to the world championships. With a time of 57''07, she achieved the qualifying minimum by 4 hundredths. “Her qualification in the 200m did her good. There, there was a lot more density in the final, but she was freed and she continues to perform”confides his coach, Cyrille Gualbert.
Analia Pigrée also concluded her day with a ticket for the Worlds, in the 50 freestyle. The sprinter once again showed that she dominated her distances. Only beaten by a Belgian swimmer, the neo-Canétoise therefore became champion of France, in 24''08, with a minimum beaten by more than a tenth and a new personal best established. And the Canet 66 swimming didn't stop there. He did not earn a new ticket for the world championships. But he won another gold medal. In relay this time.
Two medals for young Canetois
As since the start of the competition, Cyrille Gualbert's swimmers demonstrate the density of the club in its events at the start of the evening. This Saturday, it was even more glaring. Pauline Mahieu (backstroke), Giulia Rossi-Bene (breaststroke), Marina Jehl (butterfly) and Analia Pigrée (freestyle) became French champions in the ladies' 4×50 medley. They were more than three seconds ahead of the Hauts-de-Seine swimmers of Étoile 92 and… another quartet from Canet. Composed of Louna Candelon, Rosalie Abel-Thiebaut, Alix Viguier and Camille Tissandié, this quartet took bronze.
The youth of Canétoise have also expressed themselves in the meantime. Pierre Largeron, 19, took bronze in the 200m freestyle, shattering his previous personal best by almost two seconds. “It’s a bit of a surprise podiumreveals Cyrille Gualbert. This is one of the revelations, for us, of these French championships.” He completed the distance in 1'45''52. Rosalie Abel-Thiebaut, 17, took silver in 2'26''18 in the 200m breaststroke. His club partner, Camille Tissandié, failed at the foot of the podium by 7 hundredths.
In total, seven medals were won, as on the first day, Thursday October 31. But, this time, they are accompanied by two qualifications for the Worlds. “We are on a great dynamic which can allow us to grow”rejoices the Canet coach, before enjoying a last day in Montpellier, where other nice surprises can await the Canet 66 group.
