Without Léon Marchand, the French swimming championships struggle to find an audience

In the sweltering heat of the Angelotti Olympic pool in Montpellier, the announcer may be struggling and the sound system blaring out its catchy music, but the atmosphere is struggling to get going. Proof of this is the sparse crowds in the stands. Despite a few shouts of encouragement at the start of the races, the spectators are calmly watching the French swimming championships, which began on Saturday, June 14. They're only getting excited about a national record or qualifying for the world championships, held in Singapore from July 11 to August 3.

The elite of French swimming are present. Even Florent Manaudou , who put his career on hold for a season, made the trip on Monday, June 16, to present Maxime Grousset with his gold medal as French 100m freestyle champion. However, one man is missing from the list of 600 athletes, and not just any athlete. Léon Marchand continues his preparation for the World Championships in Austin (Texas), but is still making waves.

In mid-May, the four-time champion Olympic Games has been authorized by the French Swimming Federation (FFN) to skip these national championships "given [his] exceptional performances at the Paris Games" . This competition was initially supposed to mark his return to competition in France, almost a year after the big event in the summer of 2024. The mayor of Montpellier, Michaël Delafosse (Socialist Party), was delighted in September at the prospect of soon welcoming " Léon Marchand and all his medals" to his city.

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