Swimming: Maxime Grousset becomes boss of the Blues

At 26, Maxime Grousset has dazzled the French swimming championships in Montpellier with his talent. Having digested his Olympic experience , he approaches the World Championships in five weeks with the ambition of sprint bosses and the pleasure of a born competitor. "It must be the haircut, right!?" the New Caledonian wondered, not without humor, after his first title in the 50m butterfly on the opening night, a new French record to his name, as if to mark his territory.

In Marchand's absence, Grousset plunged into these Championships delivering the quotas for Singapore with the costume of leader of the Blues and a new "Australian" look, mullet and moustache, which caused quite a stir around the pool. "I like it a lot, my girlfriend too, that's the main thing," he simply replied, perfectly comfortable in his sandals, to a few joking journalists, before letting his explosive swimming do the talking for the rest of the week.

The 100m freestyle on Monday? A formality, dispatched in the final in 47 seconds 50, his third-best career time. And while the 50m freestyle was more closely contested after a botched start, he still reached the finish line before his competitors, who were a little bewildered, but above all, very admiring.

"He pulls you like a locomotive, and of course, you want to hang on, even overtake him," explains Rafael Fente-Damers, a French hopeful, second behind Grousset in the 100m freestyle. "For years, I saw him in interviews say: I know how to fight, but winning is more complicated. And then he became world champion. For me, he's a bit of a role model," adds the young swimmer.

A revelation at the Tokyo Olympics (4th in the 100m freestyle), Grousset then went on to win gold in the 100m butterfly at the Fukuoka World Championships in 2023... and the pressure that comes with it a year before a home Olympics. "Maxime never put pressure on himself, but the only time he felt it was in Paris. For the first time, he had this feeling that he absolutely had to succeed," says Michel Chrétien, his coach at INSEP.

Although disappointed with his individual performance (5th in the 100m freestyle and butterfly, but bronze in the relay), he did not experience the post-Olympic hangover of many of his teammates in the French team.

"I had advised him to take a long break, three months... He told me: no, it's not possible, and he started swimming again in mid-September. He's really looking forward to the competition, that's what makes him tick," adds Mr. Chrétien. Despite a complicated last month of preparation before these French Championships, punctuated by physical problems - contracture, sinusitis, shoulder pain - the Noumea native was eager to "send a message" to his future opponents in Singapore.

"I want to swim fast, to feel good in the water, to see what I'm capable of," he explained, smiling on the eve of the event. In each race, we could see him jump, toned but always relaxed, before stepping onto the block. "He's found a kind of lightness," judges Michel Chrétien. "In the mixed zone, when he laughs, acts like a bit of a clown... it's because he's doing pretty well." And the results follow.

All that remains is for him to achieve the minimum 100m butterfly time on Thursday to complete his qualifying bingo and return to his preparation with the hope of shining in five weeks in Singapore. "I had a lot to give. But there are still two or three small details to sort out to go even faster. He will clearly have to do better at the World Championships. But I really believe in it," he warns, determined.