Swimming: World champion, Frenchman Maxime Grousset flutters in the 100 meters

The New Caledonian, crowned in the 50m butterfly, retained his title in the other sprint distance, breaking the European record in the process.

Maxime Grousset during his 100-meter heat on August 1, 2025, in Singapore. (Oli Scarff/AFP)

And a third gold medal for the French team at the World Swimming Championships in Singapore. Reigning world champion, third-fastest in the semifinals, Frenchman Maxime Grousset asserted his status as favorite on Saturday, August 2, in the 100-meter butterfly final, where he beat Swiss Noé Ponti and Canadian Ilya Kharun.

It took less than 50 seconds to secure gold, and that's exactly what the New Caledonian did in lane 3, in 49'62, erasing the European record in the process and becoming the second fastest swimmer of all time.

With this second title of the week (the first in the 50-meter butterfly ), Maxime Grousset erases the disappointment of the 100-meter freestyle on Friday, August 1, where he was unable to compete with the very high level represented by Kyle Chalmers, Jack Alexy and the Romanian world champion David Popovici. He is due to run the final of the mixed 4x100 meters early this afternoon.