Maxime Grousset withdraws from the 50m freestyle final in order to save himself for the 100m butterfly

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The swimmer from New Caledonia made this decision after a particularly successful semi-final.

France Télévisions – Sports Editorial

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French swimmer Maxime Grousset after the semi-final of the 50-meter freestyle at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at the Paris La Défense Arena in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), on August 1, 2024. (JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP)

A choice had to be made. At the end of his 50m freestyle semi-final, where he came third, French swimmer Maxime Grousset announced on Thursday 1 August that he was giving up on competing in the final for which he had just qualified. This decision was made in order to save himself for the 100m butterfly, the distance in which he was world champion in 2023 in Fukuoka (Japan).

The French team’s management also confirmed this following the New Caledonian’s fine performance in the 50 metres. He swam four hundredths of a second off his personal best and achieved the sixth best time in the semi-finals.

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Paris 2024 – Swimming: Maxime Grousset finishes 3rd in his semi-final
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Beyond his desire to preserve himself for his favorite discipline, Maxime Grousset would have, clearly, had difficulty competing in these two races. The semi-final of the 100 m butterfly, scheduled for Friday at 9 p.m., will take place only thirty minutes after the final of the 50 m freestyle. A sequence that would have left the swimmer very little time to recover.


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