In bronze in Tokyo in 2021, Jérémy Desplanches will not compete in the 200m medley at the Paris Olympics this summer. Obviously “very disappointed”, the Genevan missed his last opportunity to reach the qualifying limit in the final of the Europeans in Belgrade, settling for a time of 1’59”04 synonymous with 5th place.
KEYSTONE
“This qualifying time (1’57”94) is so hard! But that’s the game,” he said at the microphone of Swiss Aquatics. “I approached this 200m medley as if it were the last of my career, and it is the last! I am disappointed not to have managed to secure this qualification,” he continued.
“But we have to be realistic: if I can’t achieve this qualifying time here, I can’t hope to do better in Paris. I had fun with my last 200m medley. But on Saturday, I took a slap when I saw that I was so far from the limit (1’59”27 in the semi-final) even though I was done,” he continued.
So much heartbreak for three years
This failure is cruel for the man who had chained four podiums in major international championships between 2018 and 2021 (European title in 2019, 2nd in the 2019 Worlds and 2021 Europeans, 3rd in the 2021 Olympics) to assert himself as the best Swiss swimmer in the story. Since Tokyo, he has only had one more heartbreak.
Jérémy Desplanches, who returned to Geneva at the end of 2023 after two complicated years spent in Martigues under the guidance of Philippe Lucas, flirted several times with the qualifying limit (1’57”94): he swam in 1’58’ ’00 in the 2023 Worlds series, and in 1’58”17 in the 2024 Worlds series in February in Doha.
But when it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, as he himself pointed out on Saturday after a semi-final in which he hoped to hold on to this limit. On Sunday, he was still in 3rd place in the final after 150 m, but he failed on his crawl length to fail more than a second from this limit.
Not far from a last podium
“It’s a shame. But I have no regrets, because I did everything I could, I gave 120% in this final. What bothers me the most in the end is that I’m not that far (red: 0”43) from obtaining one last medal”, further underlined the Genevan, who will be content with a role in relay in Paris.
“You have to remember the cool moments of my career, and there have been a few,” he recalled. “I am upset, because I wanted this individual qualification. But the relay (4x100m medley, possibly 4x200m freestyle), it’s a great plan B,” he assured after the last 200m medley of his career.
ATS
