Captain of the Blues during the European Short Course Swimming Championships which ended on Sunday, Florent Manaudou was delighted with the “incredible general energy” released by the French team eight months before the Paris Olympic Games .
The French team brought back 23 medals from the European Short Course Championships. As captain of the Blues, what did you think of the competition week? Florent Manaudou: “It was very good. We talk a lot about titles over the longest distances, but that’s not all I remember. I see the first international medals for Pauline Mahieu or Mary-Ambre Moluh for example, girls who manage to get on the podium. I think it’s always important for motivation. So we had a very good French team, even though we were still missing a good swimmer who is in the United States (Léon Marchand, Editor’s note). I also think of Mélanie Hénique or Marie Wattel. With the team we had which was very good but without all being there, it’s not bad.”
Does this team give you energy? “Yes because they are young and they are aggressive. The team lives together much better than a few years ago. Everyone talks to each other, there is no clan. We have often had clans in the French team, around ten years ago, there were Antibes, Marseille, Nice, etc. There everyone is with everyone and the general energy is incredible.
Personally, what is your assessment of your competition? “It’s pretty good! I’m adding three medals, so that’s cool. It’s great to win medals again, it’s a lot of emotion when I’m on the podium. I have a lot of fun behind the block, especially on the relays. I’m very happy with my 50m freestyle, Saturday’s relay a little less, but I’m happy. My sister (Laure Manaudou, Editor’s note) has 37 international medals and 22 titles, I have 34 and 20 titles. I would like to finish with exactly the same number as my sister, so I would need two more titles and another medal!”
