Russian-born swimmer Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, just naturalized French, said she was ready to “win lots of medals for France” on Sunday after qualifying for the World Championships in the 400m freestyle. By achieving a time of 04 min 08 sec 70/100th, Kirpichnikova, who has been training in France for about four years, was crowned French champion and secured her place over the distance at the Worlds in Fukuoka (Japan) in five weeks. . “I am delighted, this first title is very important for me. I have a lot of emotions, I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time, ”said the one who had already obtained her qualification for 5 and 10 km in open water. “I still hope for a little better with the 800m and the 1500m.”
Deprived of international competitions for more than a year and the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the swimmer obtained French nationality at the end of April, just before the selections for the Open Water Worlds. “Now it’s easier to train because I have the motivation to do the world championships with France, continued the pupil of Philippe Lucas in Martigues. France is my second country, it’s my home. I want to win lots of medals for France.” With her results, Kirpichnikova represents an important reinforcement for the French team, which had not had a representative in the 400m freestyle at the world level since Coralie Balmy in 2016. The 22-year-old swimmer also holds the Russian records 800 and 1500 m freestyle.
