With just under a month to go until the 2024 Olympic Games, the crème de la crème of international swimmers are training in Canet-en-Roussillon. After the Japanese delegation received a few weeks ago, right now, it is 70 Australian swimmers who invested in the Arlette Franco complex to perfect their movements and their times in the water.
Labeled preparation center for the Olympic Games
Today, the Olympic swimming pool is equipped with the latest technologieswith underwater cameras connected to software developed in Montpellier to capture the smallest details of training.
To promote recovery, a sauna as well as hot and cold baths have just been installed, adaptable according to the needs and strategies of each team. “For example, Australians take baths at thirteen degrees after their lengths, while the French ask us for water at ten degrees”, specifies Jean-Marie Portes, the president of Canet 66.
Equipment which allowed the Arlette Franco complex in Canet to be labeled a Games preparation center, but offering the best to high-level athletes cost several million euros in total. Essential investments according to Stéphane Loda, the mayor of Canet-en-Roussillon, surrounded by the Region: “There is a lot of competition to accommodate these swimmers, so current investment is needed in the pools but also in the surrounding infrastructure.”
In 2019, one million euros was invested in the weight room. In 2023, a budget of 2.6 million euros was used to modernize the swimming pool, its changing rooms, equip the pool with electronic sensors to analyze swimmers’ performance and also create a place to promote the recovery of athletes.
All this weighed in the choice of coach, Rohan Taylor: “We have already had the opportunity to come, especially during the Mare Nostrum, so we know each other very well. The facilities here are fantastic and the climate too, so everything was in place for us to come and do this training camp. Canet was at the top of our list.”
The swimmers competing in the Olympic Games are also won over. “It’s the best place to be at your best!” exclaims without hesitation Shayna Jack, who is preparing the 50m and 100m freestyle events for Paris. “We want to give the best of ourselves at the Olympic Games and for that, we all came to train in Canet. Canet is a place very well known for swimmers, so we are really proud to be here“ she says with a smile.
Clothilde Jupon
Sam Williamson, qualified for the 100m breaststroke, already knew the Arlette Franco complex but since the last time he was able to discover the brand new baths to recover after exercise. “It’s a real blessing to be able to use them” says the swimmer who won his first world gold medal by winning the 50m breaststroke at the world championships in Doha in February 2024.
For him the advantage is also the outdoor pool: “I’m from Melbourne so I swim indoors a lot, I’m not used to swimming in the sun but it’s really cool!”. Without forgetting French food : “I’m having a great time here, I’m a big fan of seafood, I’ve tried all the ‘fish of the day’ and it’s incredible the food you have to offer”, he enthuses, his eyes wide behind his glasses. Far from being just a joke, it is one of the highlights of this preparation, on which all Australian swimmers are unanimous.
Big favorites
From June 20 to July 13, in Canet-en-Roussillon, they have everything they need to prepare as well as possible and win as many medals as possible in Paris this summer. As a reminder, in swimming, Australia brought home 21 medals from the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, finishing second behind the United States.
