is among the swimmers set to compete at the first stop of the 2025 Mare Nostrum Series Il circuito Mare Nostrum ’25 si aprirà dunque con una tappa d’élite a Monaco dove i big della scena internazionale testeranno la condizione verso i Mondiali Siobhan Haughey returns to the Mare Nostrum Tour where in 2024 she swept the 100s and 200s free Olympic champion and World Record holder Sarah Sjostrom has become a regular feature on the Mare Nostrum Swim Tour roster se realizó la tercera y última etapa del prestigioso circuito y hubo buenas noticias para los nadadores de la región Milak moves up from #7 to #4 in the World this season and swam season best times in both butterfly events in Monaco after losing the 200 fly in Barcelona Today’s swim is t-17th fastest swim all-time Sjostrom leads the World in the event so far this season with a 23.69 from 2024 Worlds Hwang Sunwoo won the 100 freestyle during yesterday’s session and the defending World Champion will look to claim the 200 freestyle today Today’s sessions started out on a rather subdued note as only 2 swimmers clocked times under the 28-second barrier in this men’s 50m breaststroke Japan’s Taku Taniguchi maintained his top spot from this morning’s heats dropping nearly half a second to wind up at the wall in 27.49 for gold Koen De Groot of the Netherlands was only .10 behind in 27.59 while France got on the board, courtesy of Carl Aitkaci earning bronze in 28.15 All 3 times sit well outside the list of top 30 performers worldwide on the season It was a tightly-contested battle to the finish in this women’s 50m breast, but 25-year-old Sophie Hansson of Sweden triumphed with a time of 30.59 That outing overtook her previous season-best of 30.68 from last year’s World Cup Series and checks in as the 10th-quickest time of the Olympian’s career Two of the top three finishers from the 2023 edition of this meet landed on the podium once again, although Trinidad & Tobago’s Dylan Carter fell from gold to bronze with tonight’s race Carter checked in with a time of 23.50 for 3rd behind Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo who maintained his silver medal position from 2023 He was 23.40 last year and 23.47 this time around Taking the gold was former NC State standout Nyls Korstanje with the 25-year-old punching an effort of 23.22 He’s already been as swift as 22.90 this season a time he put on the books at April’s Swim Open Stockholm to rank #2 in the world Of note, reigning world record holder Andrii Govorov of Ukraine placed 7th this evening in 23.83 With Swedish speedster Sarah Sjostrom not competing in Canet despite her entries it was countrywoman Sara Junevik who stepped up for the gold in tonight’s 50m fly final tying her best-ever result from when she first nailed the time last year That garnered her 6th place in the final at the 2023 World Championships Melanie Henique of the host nation settled for silver tonight in 25.86, just as she did last year in 25.77, and Slovenia’s Neza Klancar produced a mark of 26.28 as the bronze medalist The nation of Tunisia landed on the podium with a 1 & 3 punch, courtesy of Ahmed Jaouadi and Rami Ramouni The former touched the time pad in 7:52.44 to notch one of two times under the 8:00 barrier while Ramouni captured bronze in 8:01.60 Splitting the pair was French ace Damien Joly who turned in a silver medal-worthy result of 7:56.90 As reigning Olympic champion Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia has stated he’s most likely out of this year’s Paris Games teammate Jaouadi is left to carry the torch in the men’s 400m frthe ee Although Jaouadi’s effort this evening is still short of the 7:51.65 World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time needed for Paris 2024 His season-best remains at the slightly quicker 7:51.97 produced at this year’s Giant Series in March Russian-turned-French swimmer Anastasia Kirpichnikova battled all the way to the wall with Belgium’s Valentine Dumont with the duo ultimately touching in identical times of 4:08.99 the women’s 1500m freestyle winner from last night just put up a new season-best overtaking the 4:09.36 nabbed in Saint-Germain-En-Laye this past March threw down the 3rd-best time of her young career Only her performances of 4:06.27 and 4:08.81 Japan got on the board with Waka Kobori bagging bronze in 4:09.49 the only other result of the pack in sub-4:10-second territory 2022 European Championships multi-medalist Yohann Ndoye-Brouard won his 2nd consecutive Canet gold medal in this men’s 100m back Runner-up status went to India’s Srihari Nataraj who hit 54.68 well off his national record of 53.77 he established at the 2021 Sette Colli Trophy The men’s 50m back victor here, Adam Jaszo of Hungary Jaszo is qualified for the Olympic Games with his season-best 53.35 swimmers have until the June 23rd window closure to clock Paris-worthy times As long as no 2 other swimmers beat his effort we’ll see what he has in the tank at next month’s French Elite Championships He’s been as quick as 52.50 in his career from the 2022 World Championships Canadian Ingrid Wilm reaped gold for her nation in this women’s 100m back posting the sole sub-minute result of the field Splitting 29.06/30.84, Wilm registered a time of 59.90, beating the next-closest racer, Emma Terebo if the host nation by .21 Terebo, who already won 200m back yesterday, notched 1:00.11 while teammate Mary-Ambre Moluh earned bronze in 1:00.44 Wilm earned the silver in this event at the just-concluded Canadian Trials, producing a time there of 59.31 there in Toronto. Kylie Masse was 57.94 to take the top spot in the event The nation of Japan demonstrated once again why it is one of the most lethal opponents in the men’s 200m breaststroke Former world record holder Ippei Watanabe unleashed a time of 2:07.62 to top the podium The 27-year-old already ranks #1 in the world this season due to the 2:06.94 he threw down for gold and Paris qualification at March’s Japanese Olympic Trials Watanabe earned gold last year in Canet in a much slower 2:10.08 Teammate Yu Hanaguruma also qualified for Paris at Trials as a result of his speedy 2:07.07 in Tokyo Domestic athlete Antoine Marc was 3rd in line but over 2 seconds back in 2:10.92 Spaniard Jessica Vall stopped the clock in a time of 2:25.92 to decisively win the women’s edition of the 200m breast That earned the gold ahead of Singapore’s Letitia Sim who earned silver in 2:27.51 while British swimmer Kara Hanlon touched in 2:28.66 for the bronze Of note, two-time IM Olympic champion at the 2020 Games, Yui Ohashi settled for 4th in this ‘off’ event Japan earned another gold, this time at the hands of reigning 200m fly world champion Tomoru Honda The Olympic silver medalist posted a head-turning time of 1:54.58 putting his prowess on display with Paris on the horizon This is the 22-year-old’s 2nd consecutive Canet victory Just as it happened at the Japanese Olympic Trials, Genki Terakado earned silver, producing 1:55.87. Terakado pulled the minor upset in the 100m fly last night ahead of French world champion from 2023 Maxime Grousset Taipai’s national record holder Kuan-hung Wang bagged bronze in 1:56.49 and Olympic champion Chad Le Clos was shut out of the podium in 4th in 1:58.20 Sarah Dumont just produced the best time of her career en route to grabbing the women’s 200m fly gold The Belgian unleashed a time of 2:09.92 to hack nearly a second off the longstanding national record 2:10.78 Valentine Dumont put on the books in the semi-final of the 2017 European Junior Championships Dumont’s lifetime best rested at the 2:10.89 logged for gold at last month’s Belgian Championships That means she slashed about a second en route to gold this evening (1:02.32/1:07.60) Mexico’s Maria Mata Cocco turned in a time of 2:10.54 and Spain’s Julia Pujadas Rusinol also landed on the podium in 2:11.01 Frenchman Maxime Grousset maintained the pole position from out of the heats capturing gold in the men’s 100m free in 48.71 That shaved .09 off the 48.80 nabbed this morning for his 2nd sub-49-second result of the day TTO’s Dylan Carter clocked a time of 48.97 to join him in the sub-49-second party and Japan’s Katsuhiro Matsumoto registered 49.13 for bronze While Grousset will battle for Olympic qualification at next month’s French Elite Championships Matsumoto secured his qualification with his gold medal-winning 48.28 at the Japanese Trials Carter is also seeking to dip under the 48.34 OQT barrier Winning her 3rd gold of this competition, Hong Kong Olympic medalist Siobhan Haughey wowed the crowd with a powerful performance in this women’s 100m free The 26-year-old former University of Michigan Wolverine punched a time of 52.55 to beat the field by a second Her season-best and PB remains at the 52.05 Hong Kong national record she set during the 2023 World Cup Series The reigning world champion in this event, Dutch ace Marrit Steenbergen, touched in 53.55 for silver and French speedster Beryl Gastaldello bagged bronze in 53.89 Steenbergen earned gold in Doha with her lifetime best of 52.26 Her career boasts a best-ever 53.40 from December 2020 The men’s 200m IM was lackluster, with only Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita scoring a result under the 2:00 barrier Matsushita produced an effort of 1:58.87 to top the podium He is qualified for the Paris 2024 Games in the 400m IM after crushing a monster personal best of 4:10.04 at March’s Trials 20-year-old Anastasia Gorbenko produced her 2nd Israeli national record in as many days at this competition Gorbenko ripped a new lifetime best of 4:36.95 to take women’s 400m IM gold Her result overtook her own previous Israeli standard of 4:37.36 established at this year’s World Championships That garnered her the silver medal in Doha Look for a subsequent post on her record-setting performance Japan’s 17-year-old Mio Narita logged a solid performance of her own, reaching the wall in 4:38.23 and teammate Waka Kobori cleared bronze in 4:38.38 Kobori earlier raced in the 400m free for an impressive double Narita won this event at the Japanese Trials posting a new lifetime best and Japanese High School Record of 4:35.40 in Tokyo Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Just a clarification… Skyler Smith is still very happily swimming at the University of North Carolina Haughey got faster through the series last year so she might pop something very fast by the last meet Brit Angharad Evans continued dropping time in the 100 breast with 1:05.54 at AP Race She’s getting into podium territory now She likely isn’t swimming it individually 😭 She won at trials and she has a time faster than the British standard There’s no way they deny her the right to swim it individually Watanabe has gone 2:07 so many times this season that it is crazy He should be a good contender for like 4th place at this point its much easier to predict finalists for the 2br in paris its like near impossible to figure out who will be medalists His consistency in the 200 fly is ridiculous Should be a good contender for like 4th place huh 2x worlds bronze medalist and 1x worlds gold medalist (I mentioned this last because Doha Mickey Mouse worlds) Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule that includes having earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC More from Retta RaceSee All Subscribe to our newsletter and receive our latest updates You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed DID YOU hear the one about the little-known area that has Mediterranean beaches The area that is less than two hours away by plane is often described as ‘the best secret in France.’ In Collioure it is home to the country’s most beautiful village many others that give it a run for its money people from the area can fly direct to Perpignan from Leeds/Bradford Airport – from Manchester the thing that immediately hits you is the pride people have in the main town and the area as a whole Picture postcard villages are dotted around the French part of Catalonia Saint Laurent de las Salanque and Tautavel push it close Each also offers something different to the traveller If it is stunning scenery of valleys in the shadow of the Pyrenees Canet en Roussillon and Argeles sur Mer will satisfy you Accommodation ranges from camp sites – there are several around the area with villages of about 5,000 inhabitants growing to a population of about 25,000 during holiday season – to luxurious hotels One which has a long history moulded by conflict and has essentially two centres History plays a big part in what is known as Perpignan Mediteranee Metropole Tautavel is home to the earliest human bones ever found in Europe Argeles sur Mer was the location of a concentration camp where up to 100,000 defeated Spanish Republicans were interned in 1939 during the Spanish Civil War Attractions that need no backward thinking include the Electrobeach Music Festival at Le Barcares Because of its location – it lies next to the Spanish border about two hours’ drive north of Barcelona – the area also gets good weather with hot summer days in the mid-30s and even 40 degrees not unknown April and May attracts the most days – a huge five restrictions on water usage have been in place It is possible to do a walking tour around Perpignan taking in the Cathedral Saint Jean Baptiste – construction of which began in 1324 and all the other historic sights including what remains of the ramparts that once guarded it and its most familiar landmark Because of its proximity to Spain and resorts like Lloret de Mar which proves popular with English rugby league supporters who have travelled to watch their side in action at Perpignan’s Super League side efforts are being made to convince them to stay in the area the food – the French eat plenty of the quality produce grown especially at lunch – and the wine made in the region Especially when you think flights from Leeds/Bradford to Perpignan which run from March until the end of October Having experienced the area and everything it has to offer we can only ask one simple question – why not Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker The first stop of the 2024 Mare Nostrum Tour kicks off tomorrow in Canet-en-Roussillon France with a wealth of international talent set to take to the pool this year’s Mare Nostrum includes the following meets: The three-stop series is celebrating its 30th anniversary and has added another way to earn prize money to celebrate An additional €1050 will be awarded to a swimmer to sweep an event at all three stops (Swimmers in the 800/1500 have to participate in Monaco in at least one of the events) Like last year, swimmers can earn money for the best World Aquatics (formerly FINA) points swim Swimmers also earn money for placing in the top three in an event notable names to the tune of Michael Andrew of the United States and Cate Campbell of Australia are missing reflecting how both nation’s Olympic Trials are coming up next month Below are some of the key talent to watch per nation as the first stop unfolds with Olympic bids on the line for some of these competitors as a last-chance competition Hong Kong – Adam Chillingworth, Siobhan Haughey Japan – Reona Aoki, Yu Hanguruma, Tomoru Honda Sweden – Louise Hansson, Sophie Hansson, Sara Junevik, Sarah Sjostrom Trinidad & Tobago – Dylan Carter There are entry times in this document page 3: https://swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/marenostrumtour2024-INFO-1710401185.pdf but slower than the US Olympic Trials standards No Sjostrom at the first Mare Nostrum stop Will be interesting to see if anything great comes out of these meets Most of these swimmers – except those desperate for an OQ – should be in hard training before Paris and not tapering an inch Don’t say this about a meeting with the legendary Sarah Sjöström She’s always ready to do something very special I guess someone didn’t read the article Article literally says MA is not competing Trials and then finding a comfy couch to watch the Paris coverage from home Not before he goes on Instagram and slams USA swimming for not selecting him Unfortunately we will get to see the seller of the century Michael Andrew get clapped by Leon in 1breast Subscribe to our newsletter and receive our latest updates! © 2025 Swim Swam Partners, LLC. All rights reserved. I tend to be on the flight home typing up my notes and forming an idea in my head of what really stood out for me that’s worth reporting on There might be one or two really stand out take-homes in which case you’re pondering the best direction to go I would never have professed to be any kind of expert in Roussillon before I went and I’ve been lucky enough to taste through and write up the Sud De France tastings when they come to London But nothing prepared me for the eye-opening differences in culture and quality of production that altered any previous perceptions I had of this unique region A potted history of the wines of Roussillon During our first night in Perpignan, CIVR (Conseil Interprofessional des Vins du Roussillon) director Eric Aracil began with a fascinating historical tour de force Roussillon is an ancient wine making region Its two major exports since the ancient Greeks established bases there had been iron ore (hence the “Rou” part of the name) and wine This was accelerated in the middle-ages when physician (and local celebrity to this day) Dr Arnaud De Villeneuve first used an alembic still to create the medicinal wine that would become Vin Doux Naturels in the 1280s The northern Corbières mountain range acted as a protective shield in the late nineteenth century from the spread of phylloxera The winemakers of Roussillon could still supply a wine-starved market so that by the 1900s when phylloxera finally arrived they had the financial resources (and by then also the knowledge of what phylloxera was) to replant the vineyards and move forwards As French colonies in North Africa claimed independence the French government created the Languedoc-Roussillon in order to produce the volumes of colourful alcoholic wines to supply the military (and winemakers further north) with the production lost from the likes of Algeria and Morocco But the demand for very specific styles of wine was not necessarily a useful thing “Roussillon was never adapted to that style of production,” stated Aracil we have the smallest average yields in France That view has been reinforced by the large decrease in planted vineyards since the 1980s as bulk producers realised this was not the land for them 28 co-ops and a handful of négociants managing 20,700 hectares of vineyards around a third of the plantings of 40 years ago owner of Domaine Lafage in Canet-en-Roussillon once said: “Roussillon is not for the faint hearted!” “Our best wines are hard to sell,” noted Didier Rodriguez of Domaine Sol Payré but the export market still doesn’t know what to make of us.” “We won’t work with any importer that would refer to us as from Languedoc-Roussillon.” – Benoit and Sebastien Danjou-Banessy It’s very clear very quickly that Roussillon is first and foremost seen by the locals as the northern part of Catalunya rather than the southern part of anywhere in France Our flights were in and out of Barcelona airport for a start we became very used to hearing conversations that married both French and Catalan interchangeably “Our inspiration has always been our grandfather with whom we spoke Catalan,” revealed Benoit Danjou-Banessy who runs the Domaine of the same name with his brother Sébastien in Espira D’Agly I only really know the name of the vineyard tools we use in Catalan!” It again questions the promotional tie-up with Languedoc with their range of imposing Cathar castles But this obvious difference in culture and winemaking ethos highlights the basic nature of ‘Languedoc-Roussillon’ it’s fantastically oversimplified,” proceeded Danjou-Banessy “We might as well have split it as North and South France!” The largest IGP in the region is IGP Côtes Catalanes “I like to use it on labels,” mused Wendy Wilson of Domaine La Soula “it reminds us where we’re from.” But it’s not always an easy moniker “Part of our rebrand is because we’d go round the world trying to sell our wines and people were expecting us to be Spanish,” remembered Armen Ratchiyan of VICA There is also the difficulty of workers arriving in the region from other parts of France “We love using Côtes Catalanes as it really reflects the culture here But it’s not easy to get used to,” joked Laura Sicard of Cave Dom Brial but soft and gentle when you get to know them!” the winemakers of Roussillon are in no doubt Roussillon should be thought of as a very separate region “We’re more similar to Penedès than Languedoc,” added Danjou-Banessy “I won’t work with any importer that would refer to us as from Languedoc-Roussillon.” They are as impressive as they are imposing It means vineyards range from sea level in areas like Canet-en-Roussillon to over 1000m inland The foothills of the Corbières Mountains in the north are home to AOC Maury Sec (and Doux) as well as the named Côtes Du Roussillon Villages areas of Tautavel highlighting the vital role altitude plays in the production of quality wine The newly christened (2017) AOC Côtes Du Roussillon Villages Les Aspres is further south as the land rises towards the iconic Mont Canigou Dominique Génot runs Mas Llossanes near Tarerach After a decade running Château Giscours’ Tuscan property and the Mediterranean sun which I really wanted having enjoyed my time in Tuscany,” smiled Génot “We now manage 11 hectares between 550m and 700m In 2015 these vineyards were seen as less desirable set by the likes of Chapoutier’s Bila-Haut is clearly increasing for quality minded producers.” whose valleys cut grooves throughout the region producing further aspects for grape growers to exploit the central River Têt and the southern River Tech also act as intra-regional markers that often can be used as a point of reference when talking about the winds and the soils prevalent in each region Roussillon is famous for being subject to strong winds that blow one day in every three throughout the year There are eight main winds gusting in all directions bringing warmth or freshness The famous winds are the Tramontane from the North-West but the relative effects of these winds are rarely constant and keep vineyard managers on their toes “We’re experiencing a bit less of the Tramontane in recent years,” noted Hervé Bizeul of the fabulous Clos Des Fées in Rivesaltes we’re getting more of the Sirocco winds from the African deserts the mountains and valleys were hewn by large movements in the tertiary and quaternary periods leaving exceptionally diverse soil formations down into the Agly Valley are known for sandy gneiss and famous dark schists giving spicy Iron rich red clay and limestone dominate the Corbières foothills give deeper Rocky alluvial soils cover the river valley terraces for minerality and warmth What is clear is that there are distinct styles and terroir everywhere you look “Vin Doux Naturels is like Catalan Viagra!” – Nicolas Raffy of Mas Amiel Cinsault and Lledoner Pelut (hairy Grenache) are accepted to be local grapes “Plantings of Syrah began to increase in the 1970s,” noted Danjou-Banessy “We only have one small plot ourselves as it’s not really adapted to the region and grafting has been tough.” Syrah has also struggled in the face of climate change with Bizeul noting “we’ve lost 30% of Syrah vineyards during these last three years of drought.” There are certain areas where it works better than others require at least 40% Syrah in the final blend revealed they only use Syrah for their entry level blends Grenache Noir remains most highly prized for both dry and Vin Doux Naturels It was also great to see Carignan with naturally restricted yields and even some carbonic maceration widely lauded especially for its natural acidity as temperatures rise White plantings are dominated by Muscat Blancs a Petit Grains and Muscat of Alexandria being the main ingredients in white Vin Doux Naturels The later in particular a source of great hope for the future “Grenache Gris does give more tannin,” noted Danjou-Banessy “and it’s that extra structure that gives it more of a fresh feel.” and progressive cellar techniques mean that over extracting jammy wines are very much…well I was going to say a rarity but I don’t think I had one that fit that description in the days I was there Vin Doux Naturels come in a range of styles and deserve an article all of their own It’s clear that more needs to be done to help this historic style the question is whether the demand is still there Is it enough to simply produce a set of world class wines and just expect wine drinkers to continue to buy them Food matching can be great fun and will help “Vin Doux Naturels is like Catalan Viagra!” exclaimed Raffy whose line-up of Maury Doux paired with chocolate cake would truly work wonders towards the end of…ahem…a meal "It really feels like a piece of the New World but in France.” – Jonathan Hesford of Domaine Treloar Roussillon has an enviable portfolio of old vines over 50% of the vines planted in the region are over 50 years old These old bush vines contribute to Roussillon’s claim to have the lowest yield of combined PDO and PGI categories in France This allows for truly unique wines to be made who manages 120-year-old plots of Garnacha put it: “You don’t make what you want to make that also includes a handy help for harvest planning in a changing climate “It’s great that the deep roots allow resistance to the drought and also the concentration of the berries,” noted Dominique Génot “But it also means production is more stable in terms of both quality and quantity.” that old vines will produce the best grapes As Hervé Bizeul put it “a young idiot usually grows up to be an old idiot.” He pointed out that younger plots in Romanée-Conti aren’t seen as lesser Roussillon remains a very attractive place for young winemakers to set up Jonathan Hesford and his wife set up Domaine Treloar just under 20 years ago “We were moving to France from New Zealand and were looking for an area we could be profitable but also make our own style of wines,” remembered Hesford relatively very cheap and you can buy old vineyards with very interesting varieties It really feels like a piece of the New World With vineyard prices as low as €8,000 per hectare Antoine Lespes of Domaine Lafage – commended for his strides in regenerative viticulture Climate change is bringing particular pressures “We’re the first region in France to really feel it,” continued Bizeul “I understand that everywhere has its challenges but if the vines don’t get at least 300mm of rain they won’t survive for long.” With just 240mm of rain falling in 2023 the situation is pressing Domaine Lafage was voted highly commended in this year’s Drinks Business Green Awards largely thanks to the work of impressive head of viticulture “Being part of the Regenerative Viticulture Alliance (a Catalan movement started by Torres) has helped us spread the word to our growers and partners Our studies have targeted the use of drip irrigation around budburst as optimum for the plant and our work with BioChar has seen our water and compost inputs reduced to just a third for the same vegetative result.” Further work on reducing erosion with increased root systems of companion plants and planting vines following contours of hillsides has had a marked effect The increased use of on-site water recycling units like that being built into the new wine tourism works at Domaine Sol Payré windy and dry weather does have a large upside for modern consumer behaviour The likes of Domaine La Soula has long been known in the UK as embracing organic and biodynamic methods 35% of Roussillon’s vineyards are either certified or in organic conversion This is an impressive number given the large role co-ops play and the challenges they face in incentivising all their members voted France’s best co-op in 2022 by the Berliner Wein Trophy Laura Sicard revealed the importance placed on future proofing the business and also signed up to the Vignerons Engagées programme,” stated Sicard “10 of our 40 full time growers are also now organic certified which really helps our message.” For more information on wines and winemakers in this article, please contact Mike Turner via contact pages on www.the-buyer.net For more information about the Wines of Roussillon please contact Celine Bouteiller on celine@otaria.co.uk judge and regular contributor for The Buyer Fancy trying some of the wines from the fabulous winemakers mentioned in this article They are currently working with the following importers: Domaine Danjou-Banessy – Cambridge Wine Merchants Mas Llossanes – Currently seeking an importer Domaine Sol Payré – Currently seeking an importer Vignobles Terrasous – Sommelier Consultant Domaine Treloar – Cambridge Wine Merchants The Buyer TVClick below to watch The Buyer's library of online debates, videos and webinars. I AWOKE with techno music still beating in my head.  it involved checking out what kind of nightlife there is in a seaside resort town on the Mediterranean just 10km from Perpignan the “beach” part of the ancient village of Canet-en-Roussillon Situated less than an hour’s drive from the Spanish border the red-and-yellow stripes of the Catalan flag are to be found on display in all conceivable forms in more numerous quantity than the French tricolour Canet-en-Roussillon was a walled fortress of a city that profited from trade along its route as part of the Catalan kingdom That particular era of financial prominence ended when feudal France took over from the kings of Catalonia and Majorca and Louis XIV ordered all city walls in the area to be dismantled in 1645 the citizens of Canet having absorbed the stone to build their own houses over the intervening centuries There is also a completely intact ice well from the 17th century and a major rebuilding project of the original chapel is underway The old town is a charming French village with a mixture of ancient 19th and 20th century styles that blend together in sun-kissed ochre-coloured bliss following a sprightly 60-something female tour guide the town was in full preparation for a medieval festival lending an even more authentic feel to the town’s ancient monuments By the time the railway reached these parts in the late 19th century the word “tourisme” had entered the French language and the crowds began to arrive into Canet-en-Roussillon from the north and beyond via a tram link from Perpignan the beach extension of Canet-Plage was created there were no tourists along this stretch of coastline People went much further east to places like Nice or west to the resorts of the Atlantic coast The Catalan coastline was a place only for local residents and fishermen on the lagoons smelling strangely and plagued by mosquitoes wide fine sandy beach at Canet-Plage today it’s virtually impossible to imagine that now It’s the last busy weekend of the season and town beach and coastline are buzzing with activity It’s 29 degrees with a refreshing warm breeze the dark outline of the Pyrenees stands watch over the Languedoc-Roussillon coastline that has seen so much transformation over the centuries You’re only an hour’s drive from the Pyrenean ski stations here It’s clearly a point that many Irish had in mind when they bought properties in Canet the Irish represent the largest foreign grouping of owners of second homes in Canet-Plage the plains extend west towards the nearby regional capital and rugby citadel of Perpignan Just inside the coastline on either side of Canet-Plage where members of the public can go (ideally on the well-maintained special cycle routes) to see the huge variety of natural wildlife which includes the local rosé-coloured flamingos You can also see the traditional fishermen’s huts along the shoreline of the nearest on They were constructed using a variety of reed that grows traditionally on the lagoon They have almost no windows and were used as homes by the fishermen up until the 1950s they are mostly used for storage by the ten fishermen that are still licensed to fish the lagoon Towards the other end of the beach is Canet’s deceptively huge port Traditional boat-building still goes on here but that’s dwarfed by the marina and the various other commercial activities The area is due to undergo major rejuvenation works in the coming years which will open up the more newly-extended port areas to the town as well as moving their excellent (if a little dated-looking) aquarium to more salubrious surroundings The main pier and harbour is the principal embarkation point for fun activities too scuba diving and sigh-inducing sailing excursions up and down the coastline with the Navivoile company The latter includes the popular sunset cruise where you can watch the sun go down and the twinkly lights come out on a beautiful stretch of the Mediterranean You generally eat extremely well in these parts The French — and particularly the Mediterranean French — seem to have mastered the art of eating and drinking copiously but never to idiotic excess You arise from the table full and satisfied but never fit to burst You can see a similar pattern on the main night-life strip in Canet-Plage where a mostly young crowd drink and hang out in the many bars of a street that is known locally as “Rue de la Soif” (the Street of Thirst) the atmosphere is hopping but never threatening It made me wonder about the differences between our cultures in this town that has recently been twinned with Maynooth (believe me — there’s no resemblance) I concluded that it was all down to the weather there’s no real rush; there’s no need to drink and eat like there’s no tomorrow because tomorrow is going to be another sunny day Aer Lingus ( www.aerlingus.com ) operates direct flights from Dublin to Perpignan three times a week from May to September with affordable twice-daily links from Kerry via Aer Arann/Aer Lingus Regional ( www.aerlingus.com or www.aerarann.com/ ) The Hôtel Host et Vinum ( www.hostetvinum.com ) Tel +33 4.68.80.32.63 is a recently revamped superior 3-star hotel in tranquil pine-pocked gardens with swimming pool on a quiet street close to the beach The very impressive Arboretum Mas Roussillon ( www.arboretum-canet-en-roussillon.fr ) is run by a local trust whose members are bursting with enthusiasm and who have collected a huge array of trees including every species of vine grown in Languedoc-Roussillon — the world’s largest wine-growing region Difficult though it may be to drag yourself from the best beach around for many kilometres the truly alluring medieval town of Collioure is too close by to be given a skip — just 35km down the coast the weak-hearted or the generally lethargic Check out Jet Center 66 (www.jetcenter.fr) at the port An hour’s trip will bring you all the way along the coast as far as Collioure; make sure to wear protection against inevitable wear-and-tear on your thumbs Navivoile ( www.navivoile.com ) offers a range of sailing excursions Host et Vinum offers an excellent Mediterranean menu with highly creative levels of presentation The Horizon restaurant at the four-star Les Flamants Roses ( www.hotel-flamants-roses.com ) offers an altogether more glamorous setting closer to the shoreline with attractively-lit outdoor poolside seating the Estelle de Mar (Route de Saint-Cyprien tel +334.68.62.21.59) has a highly affordable and superb menu in beach-shack-style setting right on the beach The market on Canet-Plage is a seasonal one with stalls selling everything literally under the sun along the seafront and some adjoining streets with a good variety of fresh seafood and local artisanal food produce From as little as €1 a week with our digital introductory offer Already a subscriber? Sign in more courts articles The first night of competition in Canet-en-Rousillon starting off the final leg of the Mare Nostrum Series proved to be the property of Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom proving herself as a force to be reckoned with at Worlds although France’s Mehdy Matella allowed his swim to do the talking in a stacked 100 fly heat The night kicked off with the women’s 50 backstroke led by favorite Emily Seebohm of Australia in 28.13 Seebohm was tightly followed by the Netherlands Maiike De Waard in 28.34 and Great Britain’s Elizabeth Simmonds the men’s 50 backstroke race proved exciting thanks to a nail-biting finis between Jérémy Stravius (25.28) of France and the United States’ Taylor Dale (25.29) Australia’s Mitchell Larkin stayed close in 25.32 Although the top three times did not crack the top twenty-fastest times this year Sarah Sjostrom stole the show in the women’s 50 freestyle Her 23.85 came up just short of Britta Steffen’s 2009 full-suited world record time of 23.79 but demolished the Mare Nostrum record Sjostrom virtually dominated the competition; her closest competitor was Ramoni Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands in a respectable 24.35 followed by Denmark’s Pernille Bloom in 24.47 just edged out Australia’s Cameron Mcevoy Andrii Govorov of the Ukraine rounded out the medalists in the A-final The time for Fratus would rank him ninth in the world except that he is already on the list at number five it was Anja Kesley of Hungary who came out on top with an 8:31.50—a crucial race on her part that allowed her to wiggle her way into the twentieth ranked spot in the world it was France’s Sharon Van Rouwendaal in 8:33.56 and Portgual’s Diana-Margarida Duraes in 8:40.86 The men’s distance freestyle event of the day—the 400 freestyle—had even more dramatic effects on world rankings in the lead up to world championships Champion Aleksander Krasnykh of Russia swam a decent race of 3:46.93 which is over a second off of his best for the year but nonetheless important as he gears up for this summer’s main event Poland’s Filip Zaborowski (3:47.28) made a significant vertical leap in world rankings Norway’s Henrik Christiansen also posted a solid 3:48.47 for the night Australia’s Emily Seebohm proved herself once again as a force to be reckoned with She swam the fastest time of the year in the world and set a Mare Nostrum record of 2:06.66 Daria K Ustinova of Russia hit the pad in a strong 2:08.76—not her best Canada’s Taylor Ruck established herself event with a third-place finish in an impressive 2:09.54 a time that will land her at ninth in the world Poland’s Radoslaw Kawecki proved that morning rankings do not tell the whole story as he came out of the sixth seed to win it all in 1:57.47 Kawecki was followed by Hungary’s Adam Telegdy in 1:58.25 and Australia’s Mitchell Larkin All three men were shy of their best marks for the year Yulia Efimova of Russia set the crowd on fire setting a new Mare Nostrum record and pouncing close to the world record time of 1:04.35 It was her fastest—and the world’s fastest—mark of the year it was the fifth-fastest time of all time in the event Sweden’s Jennie Johansson took a convincing second in 1:06.79 and Australia’s Jessica Hansen nabbed the bronze in 1:07.09 setting a new Mare Nostrum record of 59.53 and just edging out Japan’s Yashuhiro Koseki (59.66) Arno Kamminga of the Netherlands followed closely behind in 1:00.51 Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu¸ unsurprisingly pulled out a victory in 2:11.16 Hiroko Makino of Japan was nearby in 2:12.34 just dodging her world-ranked time of 2:12.11 while Canada’s Erika Hodgson Seltenreich settled for third in 2:13.07 Alexis-Manacas Santos of Portugal won convincingly in 4:21.48 Dawid Szwedzki of Poland easily found silver in 4:22.98 and Denmark’s Daniel Skaaning took the bronze away from distant competitors in 4:25.75 Sjostrom proved herself as a global threat to world records Sjostrom attacked the first 50 of her 100 fly in 26.07 she swam the same event last weekend and set a Mare Nostrum record She ultimately finished out her race in 55.76 barely dodging the world record of 55.48 and trouncing her own Mare Nostrum record of 56.20 Although it was Sjostrom’s race from the outset South Korea’s An Seyhon also had a noteworthy performance at the same time as Seyhon beat out Canada’s Penny Oleksiak (57.32) in the pool she also bumped Oleksiak down a spot in the more abstract world rankings The men’s 100 butterfly was less a question of favorites than it was of grit France’s Mehdy Matella surpassed both Hungary’s Laslo Cseh (51.87) and South Africa’s Chad Le Clos (51.92) with a tremendous 51.63 The race allowed Matella to prove his salt head-to-head against two of the most seasoned flyers in the world—an excellent preview of what is to come at Worlds The women’s 200 freestyle came down to the fingernails Although Australia’s Emma McKeon took out the first fifty under world record pace and Sweden’s Michelle Coleman pulled ahead Despite shortening up during the last 50 yards of the race McKeon gained in the back half for silver in 1:56.29 while Femke Heemskerk of the Netherlands snagged third in 1:56.51 Stravius once again went head-to head in the men’s 200 freestyle but this time he fell to his close competitor Despite leading the pack for most of the race Russia’s Krasnykh worked slowly but surely to overcome him Krasnykh succeeded in passing and touching out Stravius with a 1:47.36 while Italy’s Filippo Magnini took third in 1:48.70 Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " We’re entering the first finals session of the 2024 Mare Nostrum Tour with action set to get underway from Canet this evening Stars to the tune of Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong, Maxime Grousset of France and Marrit Steenbergen of the Netherlands are each set to race in more than one event to kick-off their campaign This morning’s prelims were on the more subdued side with no one busting out anything too crazy to kick things off they’ll be saving their speed for tonight’s main events as some contestants are still chasing Olympic Qualification Times to potentially score roster spots for this summer’s Games The women’s 50m back brought the heat tonight, with Canadian national record holder Kylie Masse firing off a speedy 27.43 to take the gold 28-year-old Masse held off French ace Analia Pigree who touched just .10 behind in 27.53 as the silver medalist while fellow Canadian Ingrid Wilm landed on the podium in 27.71 for bronze Masse owns the Canadian standard with a lifetime best of 27.18 logged at the 2022 Canadian World Championship Trials She’s already been as fast as 27.27 this season courtesy of the time she posted at February’s Spanish Open to rank 3rd in the world on the season Wilm is the Mare Nostrum Tour record holder possessing the mark with the 27.37 she produced last year to tie Russian Anastasia Fesikova’s 2018 record Pigree’s result came within striking distance of the 27.27 French record she put on the books for gold at the 2022 European Championships Hungary got on the board in this men’s 50m back, courtesy of Adam Jaszo 21-year-old Jaszo stopped the clock at 25.46 to get to the wall first ahead of top-seeded Srihari Nataraj of India national record holder Nataraj sliced .03 off to log 25.50 for silver His PB rests at the 25.18 he logged at the 2021 Belgrade Trophy Great Britain’s Scott Gibson rounded out the podium in 25.64 Last year Beryl Gastaldello placed 5th in this women’s 50m free (24.84) but the 29-year-old upgraded to gold this time around The French sprinter posted a season-best of 24.62 to grab the top prize registering one of two sub-25-second results of the field Joining her was Dutch swimmer Milou Van Wijk who touched in 24.95 just off her lifetime best of 24.86 punched at last month’s Eindhoven Qualification Meet That mark represented her first-ever foray under the 25-second barrier Marie Wattel snagged the bronze medal position in 25.02 Both Gastaldello and Wattel will be battling for an Olympic roster spot at next month’s French Elite Championships the competition that represents the nation’s Olympic Trials The 2023 world champion in the men’s 100m fly, Maxime Grousset of the host nation controlled this fast and furious 50m free in a speedy 21.92 That kept his position out of the heats, with Dylan Carter of Trinidad & Tobago securing silver in 22.37. Just .01 behind was Ian Ho who produced 22.38 for the bronze medal Grousset’s season-best rests at the 21.81 put up last December while Carter has already captured Olympic qualification courtesy of his season-best 21.69 posted that same month earned Paris 2024 qualification as a result of the 21.83 national record he put on the books at this year’s World Championships The top Frenchman at the moment is multi-Olympic medalist Florent Manaudou who turned in a time of 21.71 in Lyon earlier this month to rank 10th in the world Russian-turned-French swimmer Anastasia Kirpichnikova was the decisive winner of this women’s 1500m freestyle turning in the sole time of the field under 16:00 Her PB remains at the 15:48.53 which garnered her a 4th-place finish at last year’s World Championships in Fukuoka Her performance this evening now inserts her into the season’s ranking in slot #5 2022 European Championships silver medalist Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas touched in 16:12.03 and Diana Duraes of Portugal also earned a medal in 16:25.78 As reigning Olympic champion Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia has stated he’s most likely out of this year’s Paris Games, teammate Ahmed Jaouadi is left to carry the torch in the men’s 400m free Jaouadi has been as rapid as 3:45.95 this season a time he scored in March at the Giant Series to rank 15th in the world This morning he produced 3:52.88 as the top seed and he shaved another .04 off that result to check in with 3:48.62 as the gold medalist Frenchman Tommy-Lee Camblong scored silver in 3:52.19 and British freestyler Tyler Melbourne-Smith collected bronze in 3:52.26 25-year-old Emma Terebo of France continues to improve in this women’s 200m backstroke nearly every time she races Entering this competition with a lifetime best of 2:08.88 from just this past March Terebo hacked another .43 off to register a head-turning 2:08.45 for gold Terebo earned gold in the only time of the pack under the 2:10 threshold Terebo topped the podium at the 2023 edition of this competition in a result of 2:12.10 Hungary’s reigning European Junior Championships gold medalist Dora Molnar was next to the wall in 2:10.07 while Africa Zamorano of Spain hit 2:10.24 for the bronze Terebo inserts herself into the season’s world rankings as the 15th-swiftest performer and remains the 3rd-fastest French performer of all time Hidekazu Takehara of Japan denied 2 Frenchmen the top of the podium as he earned his nation’s first Mare Nostrum Tour gold of 2024 At the Japanese Olympic Trials this past March Takehara put up the swim of his life to qualify for the Olympic Games in this event The 19-year-old ripped a time of 1:56.28 to knock well over half a second off the 1:56.93 previous PB he established at the 2023 World Championships Trials Despite Japanese national record holder Reona Aoki earning the top seed with a morning swim of 1:07.21, it was Hong Kong Olympic medalist Siobhan Haughey who ultimately got the job done for gold Former University of Michigan Wolverine Haughey scored a time of 1:07.01 to touch first with Aoki next in line only .08 behind in 1:07.09 British swimmer Kara Hanlon was also right there at the finish Aoki owns a season-best of 1:05.76 to rank 7th in the world this season with the time qualifying her for this summer’s Olympic Games Haughey ripped a new lifetime best and Hong Kong national record of 1:05.92 en route to earning bronze at this year’s World Championships the Edinburgh veteran put up a time of 1:06.60 at this year’s British Olympic Trials not enough to earn a spot on the nation’s Paris roster Hanaguruma touched first in the sole sub-minute outing of the field Former 200m breast world record holder Ippei Watanabe touched next in 1:00.28 followed by Taniguchi’s 1:00.77 These are the same 3 men who finished top 3 at this year’s Japanese Olympic Trials Taniguchi topped the podium in a time of 59.43 while Hanaguruma and Watanabe identically clocked 59.47 to settle for silver Israeli national record holder Anastasia Gorbenko soared to the wall first to handily take this women’s 200m IM Gorbenko crushed a new lifetime best of 2:08.63 to not only take the gold Entering this competition, the 20-year-old’s PB and national record stood at the 2:09.28 from the Monte Carlo stop of last year’s Tour. Tonight’s performance destroyed that effort and fell just .14 outside of Hungarian Olympic champion Katinka Hosszu‘s longstanding Tour record of 2:08.49 from 2017 Japan took the next 2 spots on the podium, with Shiho Matsumoto hitting 2:10.33 while reigning Olympic champion Yui Ohashi turned in 2:12.41 These two women earned Olympic qualification in the event at the Japanese Olympic Trials where Ohashi got the edge over Matsumoto in 2:09.17 to the latter’s 2:09.90 effort Japan kept its medal haul moving with a gold secured at teh hands of Tomoyuki Matsushita Matsushita qualified for Paris in this event, courtesy of the 4:10.04 lifetime best he produced at this year’s Japanese Trials. That beat 2016 Olympian Daiya Seto who missed out on qualifying in the event World Championships bronze medalist from Doha, Louise Hansson of Sweden maintained her pole position out of the heats with a gold medal-worthy result of 57.91 in this women’s 100m fly Splitting 27.90/30.82, Hansson led a 1-2 Swedish punch, with teammate Sara Junevik clocking 58.44 Host nation ace Marie Wattel rounded out the podium in 58.71 to pair this bronze with the one she collected in the 50m free earlier in the session Hansson’s time of 56.94 from Doha represents her season-best while Junevik posted 58.48 at April’s Swim Open Stockholm Her outing here sliced .04 to check in as her new PB The 2023 World Championships gold medalist took a backseat tonight in the men’s 100m fly, as Maxime Grousset fell just .02 shy of gold It was Japan’s Genki Terakado who touched first, establishing a time of 51.90 to Grousset’s 51.92. Nyls Korstanje of the Netherlands also landed on the podium with a 52.05 time for bronze Tomoru Honda, also of Japan, and Chad Le Clos of South Africa with Honda hitting 52.18 and Le Clos registering 52.35 Terakado owns a season-best of 51.33 from when he finished 3rd in this event at the Japanese Trials He missed Paris qualification in that sprint but made the cut in the men’s 200m fly The men’s 100m fly is one of the most competitive on the planet it takes a time of 51.06 to rank among the top 10 performers thus far this season with newly-minted Canadian champion and Olympic qualifier Josh Liendo holding the fastest time in the world at a scorching 50.06 26-year-old Siobhan Haughey impressively captured her 2nd gold of the session cranking out a massive time of 1:55.39 to take this women’s 200m free Haughey masterfully split 27.32/29.51/29.22/29.34 to score a time that beat the pack by over 3 seconds Lilla-Minna Abraham of Hungary and teammate Nikolett Padar finished in respective 2nd and 3rd with Abraham posting 1:58.46 to Padar’s 1:58.55 Haughey’s result was still short of the 1:54.08 she notched on the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup circuit which rendered her the 3rd-fastest woman in the world this season Nothing too crazy happened in the men’s 200m free, with Katsuhiro Matsumoto getting teh job done in 1:47.47 That was enough to hold off 2 French swimmers, with Hadrien Salvan snagging silver in 1:48.46 and Enzo Tesic bagging bronze in 1:48.80 the 2019 World Championships co-bronze medalist in this event took the 2free title at this year’s Japanese Olympic Trials where he turned in a season-best of 1:45.29 to qualify for the Olympics It might be a bit early to say that Grousset is the 2032 world champion but maybe you know something us non-time-traveling folk ignore lol Get the most important Swimming stories delivered straight to your inbox November 12th, 2024 International, Mare Nostrum, News The Mare Nostrum Swim Tour has announced its three meet schedule for the 2025 season which will be held entirely in the month of May along the Mediterranean coast the historic series has been a major stop for the world’s top swimmers on the way to the mid-summer championship meets for three decades Each stop hands out significant prize money with the best FINA Points swim of each gender throughout the series taking home €7,000 ($7,436) in 2024 Athletes travel together throughout the stops if they participate in them all with organizers-provided transportation In total, last year’s series offered around $150,000 in prize money. A post shared by Mare Nostrum Swim Tour (@marenostrumswimtour) With the onset of la Nina end of May might be too cold for outdoor swimming in Europe What was the pressure at UPPER MATECUMBE KEY FL at 9 PM on SEPTEMBER 2 1935 All you want to know on this famous hurricane Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane 1935 This system was first detected east of the central Bahamas on August 29 it passed near Andros Island on September 1 at which time it reached hurricane strength and turned west-northwestward and when the storm reached the middle Florida Keys on September 2 the hurricane turned gradually northward almost parallel to the Florida west coast until it again made landfall near Cedar Key as a Category 2 hurricane on the 4th A northeastward motion took the storm across the southeastern United States to the Atlantic coast… Read more » More from Braden KeithSee All May 26th, 2024 Europe, International, Mare Nostrum, News, Previews & Recaps For Swedish speedster Sarah Sjostrom‘s worldwide fans there was some disappointment this weekend at the first stop of the 2024 Mare Nostrum Tour the 30-year-old world record holder wound up withdrawing from the meet This meant no appearances in the sprint butterfly and freestyle events she’s so famous for blowing up whenever she dives in The Barcelona stop is scheduled for May 29th-30th while the Monaco meet is slated for June 1-2 The Monaco stop is the competition where skins are contested in the 50s of each stroke The 50m sprints of each discipline are conducted in a series of rounds along with rounds 2 and 3 taking place on day one while the final two battles are conducted on day two Sjostrom registered monster swims across all 5 rounds of the women’s 50m fly nearly completing a masterful decrescendo en route to her frightening 24.89 which garnered her gold Exceptional wordcount all to say ‘Sarah pulled out of the meet due to illness” Needed someone like you when I was struggling to hit word quotas on middle school papers Sarah in the 50 fly…is there a more dominant swimmer in an event (KL 1500 Irish swimmer Shane Ryan broke the National Record in the 50 back Beatriz Gómez ha logrado la Marca A de FINA en el 200 estilo individual con un tiempo de 2:13,01 la Real Federación Española de Natación tendrá que elegir si la quiere añadir al equipo Olímpico porque no cronometró la marca en el Campeonato Nacional lo que ocurrió en Marzo Penny Oleksiak set a new Junior World Record in the women’s 50 fly en route to a bronze medal at the Mare Nostrum stop in Canet Katinka Hosszu will look to build on her four medal performance from yesterday as she has three more A finals tonight Andriy Govorov took the top seed in both the men’s 50 fly and 100 free at day 2 prelims in Canet en Roussillon June 07th, 2016 International, Mare Nostrum, News, Previews & Recaps The Canet en Roussillon stop of the Mare Nostrum Tour gives out prize money for top 3 finishes in individual events plus the top 20 swims in overall FINA points for the meet The tour will give out bonuses to the top 4 men and women overall The finish order is determined by adding up each swimmer’s best swim in FINA points at each of the tour’s three stops The swimmer whose 3 races combine to the highest total win the tour These bonuses are laid out on the Mare Nostrum website here. The women’s 100 is a perfect mix of youth, experience and nationality. France’s Charlotte Bonnet won this race in Monaco, and will look to repeat in front of a home crowd. Katinka Hosszu is the top seed seeking to add to her tour-leading money earnings Japan adds national record-holder Miki Uchida and rising star Rikako Ikee plus Canada’s young sensation Taylor Ruck and Brazil’s top sprinter Etiene Medeiros will all be in the h unt who hasn’t looked himself in several years but at one point looked like the next world freestyle superstar And Japanese youngster Runa Imai is the fourth seed in a tough field South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh is coming off a World Cup series title from last fall and should be the top threat to dethrone world record-holder Adam Peaty in Rio Peaty’s teammate Ross Murdoch will be representing Great Britain in Canet – Murdoch won bronze at Worlds last summer behind Peaty and van der Burgh Also competing in Canet from that Worlds final: Giedrus Titenis (6th last year for Lithuania) Kirill Prigoda (7th for Russia) and Hendrik Feldwehr (8th for Germany) It’s Hosszu atop the women’s 100 back start lists but Brazil’s Medeiros comes in with an identical 59.50 seed Then there’s Russian duo Anastasiia Fesikova and Daria Ustinova along with veteran Zimbabwean Olympian Kirsty Coventry the top 100 freestyler for Brazil is Larissa Oliveira now with 54,03 (She is also the top on 200 free with a 1:57 mid-low) On 100 breast there is also the brazilian duo: Joao Gomes Junior (59,06 at Trials) and Felipe França (59,36 at Trials Except for the Americans/Japanese the probably lineup of Rio Final on 100 breast will be at Mare Nostrum looks like a great meet….great tuneup for Rio More from Jared AndersonSee All we are discussing the madness that occurred at the Ft Lauderdale Pro Swim Ledecky’s world record in the 800 free proves that age is seemingly just a number for her but it also makes the Rio 2016 swim she beat out more memorable Marchand has a few areas of improvement to work on if he hopes to return to his Paris form at the World Championships this summer in Singapore having tight battles in both the 200 and 400 IM but ultimately touching 2nd in both Cal Bear and Mexican swimmer Humberto Najera took down a pair of national records in the men’s backstroke events June 09th, 2018 Mare Nostrum, National, News 23-year old American swimmer Missy Franklin swam her first races since the 2016 Olympic Games in the opening session of the Mare Nostrum Series her first race back was the event that stands out among a long list of events where she’s had success: the 200 backstroke where she’s the current World Record holder which qualified her 5th in the event through to finals who herself is making her way back from an extended competition break that didn’t see her race for almost 6 months Franklin qualified 9th in the 200 free in 2:00.51 behind top-qualifying Charlotte Bonnet of France (and also a new revelation 17-year old Ajna Kesely of Hungary in 1:58.53) albeit a capable B-Final with international-caliber swimmers like Daria Ustinova and American junior Brooke Forde Contextualizing these swims are a tricky game Franklin was arguably the best female swimmer in the world and with little argument the best in the world at these events Franklin is still physically-built to be a world-class swimmer at 6’2″ tall and even moving across the country to train at Georgia she’s still working with a world-class coach Jack Bauerle who has trained more World and Olympic Champions than most it would have been unlikely for Franklin to show up at her first meet back and lay a total egg she was 1:59.99 in the 200 free at the prelims of the Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite She was 2:11.46 in prelims of the 200 back at that same meet That Picture is special – thanks to Mike’s eye of the tiger placement She looks like she’s standing on the water I kind of doubt Peaty will break 58 this year Maybe a deserved and smart “off” year for him so there won’t be much of a response its a response nonetheless with the fighting spirit Interesting to hear what she has to say about the double Maybe she was tired for her 4th 200-meter race of the day Or simply her backstroke is not at a good level yet The Olympic channel announcer was terrible He didn’t seem to know that Hosszu and Tusup have split and he said that Taylor Ruck was placed “between the two favorites” in the 200 backstroke I was hoping he was in charge of the betting lines FRANKLIN Missy FRANKLIN USA ATHENS BULLDOGS 02:13.14 +0.72 Mix of my usual fans on swimswam plus Andrew fans who don’t like to see him lose that race I’m honestly starting to think that somebody has written some sort of script to game swimswam’s voting system to downvote every Bobo post a bunch Even his most non controversial comments get downvoted to hell Bobo was #3 on their list behind the DNC and WADA Looks like there’s no TV live broadcast this year I used to watch those Mare Nostrum meets on Bein Sports I already have a football/soccer indigestion… Relive 11 of the 12 freestyle races through video highlights from last month’s 2022 World Championships in Budapest Relive all six breaststroke races through video highlights from last month’s 2022 World Championships in Budapest Relive all six butterfly races through video highlights from last month’s 2022 World Championships in Budapest June 05th, 2022 College, Europe, International, News, Pac-12 French swimming star Leon Marchand left the recent Pro Swim Series in Mission Viejo after only contesting the 200 butterfly to join his team for a pre-World Championship training camp in Canet who just wrapped a standout freshman season at Arizona State winning in a time of 1:56.54 before scratching from the 100 butterfly and 400 IM on Friday his decision to leave the meet a day early was due to the fact that he had to travel back to Europe to join the French team’s training camp ahead of the 2022 World Championships Marchand is one of 21 swimmers expected to represent France in Budapest later this month “I’m happy with his time,” his coach Bob Bowman said “He’s still learning how to swim this event properly.” His best time of 1:55.40 was done last June who also coached the former World Record holder in the 200 fly Michael Phelps The French World Championship team is currently training in Canet-en-Roussillon in France until they depart for Budapest Pool swimming at the World Aquatics Championships begins on June 18 The camp is being held at the Canet 66 Natation which was the final site of the Mare Nostrum Swim Tour in May and a gym complete with 8 multi-purpose work stations The facility also includes a recovery area specifically designed for swimmers with a jacuzzi and a stretching room which will be utilized in the swimmer’s tapper process as they prepare for Worlds The French team is being overseen by FFN High Performance Director Jacco Verhaeren who was appointed by the FFN to lead the program last year in the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Verhaeren coached several members of the Australian National Team from 2013 until 2020 More from Nicole MillerSee All June 12th, 2019 Europe, International, Mare Nostrum, News, Previews & Recaps Day two finals of the Mare Nostrum stop in Canet promises to be another fast session after day one produced some eye-popping performances Highlighting this morning’s prelims was Adam Peaty setting a new Canet record in the men’s 50 breast in a time of 26.87 Yuliya Efimova edged out Brazilian Jhennifer Conceicao by four one-hundredths to win the women’s 50 breast for the second consecutive stop in a time of 30.60 Efimova currently sits second in the world with a time of 29.93 from the FINA Champions Series stop in Indianapolis Conceicao was less than two-tenths off of the South American Record she set in Monaco (30.47) in 30.64 In the head-to-head showdown between Adam Peaty and Felipe Lima the two fastest performers in history in the men’s 50 breast it was Peaty who emerged victorious with a time of 26.71 That improves on the 26.87 meet record he set in the prelims His season-best of 26.49 ranks him third in the world Reece Whitley was a notable 27.76 for sixth just 0.13 off of his lifetime best of 27.63 Oleksiak holds a season-best of 26.00 which ranks her 10th in the world while her Canadian Record is only four-tenths quicker at 25.62 Gastaldello was also just off her 2019 best having been 26.05 at the French Championships in April 50-metre specialist Ben Proud established a new season-best to win the men’s 50 fly in 23.09 lowering his 23.25 from the British Championships This bumps him up from eighth to sixth in the world Michael Andrew, one of the men he leapfrogged, was second in 23.12, .01 off his best from Indianapolis (Champions Series). Russian Andrey Zhilkin In fifth, Santiago Grassi achieved a new Argentine Record in 23.65, lowering the 23.70 established by Roberto Strelkov earlier this year Norwegian Henrik Christiansen topped the men’s 800 free field in 7:48.19, knocking off Wojciech Wojdak‘s 2017 Mare Nostrum Record of 7:50.18 by two seconds Christiansen is the fourth fastest swimmer in the world this year with a swim of 7:45.11 at the Stockholm Open in April just off his PB of 7:44.21 from the 2017 World Championships Great Britain’s Daniel Jervis was the only one to challenge Christiansen in the timed final event improving on his lifetime best by three seconds in 7:50.65 Gergely Gyurta was the only other swimmer to crack 8:00 in 7:59.82, squeaking past Marwan El Kamash‘s 8:00.19 from the early heats For the second straight day, Ajna Kesely and Delfina Pignatiello had an epic finish in a women’s distance free event as the Hungarian got the better of the Argentine once again in the 400 Kesely held the slight edge the entire race and after a push from Pignatiello on the penultimate 50 the two split nearly identical on the way home to finish .05 apart just over a second off her 4:05.12 from the Hungarian Championships in March while Pignatiello’s 4:06.61 gave her a new National Record by close to two seconds Her previous record stood at 4:08.33 at the 2017 World Juniors and she was 4:08.34 to win the opening stop in Monaco She also is now just six-tenths outside of the South American Record in the event after she broke the 800 Continental Record yesterday The two notably went head-to-head back at the 2017 World Juniors 800 and 1500 (with Pignatiello coming out on top in the 800 and 1500) This swim bumps her into 15th in the world this year, one spot ahead of Russian Anna Egorova who finished third today in 4:09.53 Rising American junior star Phoebe Bacon was the fastest swimmer going out and put together a strong back half to hold off the field and win the women’s 100 back in a time of 59.92 The swim improves her season-best set at the Knoxville stop of the PSS in January by .01 Czech swimmer Simona Kubova (formerly Baumrtova) closed well coming home in 30.74 to finish less than a tenth back of Bacon in 1:00.01 Canadians Taylor Ruck and Kayla Sanchez were the other two came back sub-31 placing third and fourth overall in 1:00.18 and 1:00.68 respectively Opening up with a blazing opening 50 of 25.99, Michael Andrew came away with his second straight men’s 100 back win on the tour in a time of 54.11 Texas A&M swimmer Shaine Casas was the only athlete in the field to come back sub-28 as he jumped up from fifth at the 50 into second at the finish producing the second-fastest swim of his career in 54.69 His best time was set at last summer’s Nationals in 54.51 Guilherme Guido of Brazil took bronze in 54.78 getting overtaken by Casas down the stretch Yuliya Efimova cruised to her second straight women’s breaststroke sweep with a final time of 2:23.41 in the 200 tonight opening up a slight lead at the halfway mark and then coming home quicker than anyone in 1:13.47 Efimova ranks third in the world this year with a 2:21.59 at the FINA Champions Series stop in Indianapolis Sitting fourth at the 150 wall, James Wilby charged home to win the men’s 200 breast in a time of 2:09.55 Wilby ranks fourth in the world this year with a time of 2:07.49 from the British Championships in April and is coming off a very impressive 100 breast yesterday where he dipped under 59 seconds (58.99) Reece Whitley won the B-final in 2:10.60 lowering his previous best of 2:10.82 from 2017 Alys Thomas led wire-to-wire to win the women’s 200 fly in 2:07.92 half a second off her 2:07.40 from the British Championships (which ranks her 11th in the world) Chimrova is the only one of the four who hasn’t been sub-2:08 this year holding a season-best of 2:08.73 from Monaco Daiya Seto used a blistering 54.63 opening 100 of the men’s 200 fly to give himself a comfortable win in 1:56.25, over a second and a half clear of Canadian Mack Darragh Seto’s 1:54.44 from April has him ranked fourth in 2019 Darragh’s back half of 1:01.13 was the fastest in the field giving him the runner-up finish in 1:57.89 He was 1:56.68 in April at the Canadian Trials in April ranking him 27th in the world Brazilian Luiz Altamir Melo was third in 1:58.85, while Carson Foster finished less than a second off his best time for fourth in 1:59.32 Gastladello ranks 21st in the world this season with a 53.84 Coleman (54.23) and Bonnet (54.27) were second and third, followed by Freya Anderson (54.31) and Maria Kameneva (54.35) Anderson was the fastest closer of anyone in 27.76 James Guy turned eighth at the 50 and then came home faster than anyone in 25.32 getting himself on the podium in third in 49.53 That improves on his best of 49.56 from 2015 An early lead established on the front-end of the men’s 200 IM was enough for Jeremy Desplanches to cruise to victory in 1:58.14 opening it up in 55.35 with fly and back splits of 25.27 and 30.08 respectively Katinka Hosszu took off from the field on the breaststroke leg en route to a win in the women’s 400 IM in a time of 4:33.77 just under a second off her season-best of 4:32.87 which ranks her second in the world Sure worlds are not that far away but… Still… and I do find it a bit funny that proud is the 50 specialist and andrew not… Andrew just won the 100 back and I don’t know if Proud could finish 100… You’re forgetting that Proud has been 47 on relays whereas Andrew can barely break 50 in a 100 free Andrew has good 100s in the other three strokes though Proud on the other hand can have a decent 100 free but the odd relay aside doesn’t really swim it these days I think describing him as a 50 specialist is more than fair I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do at Worlds I think at some point him and Shymanovich will go under 58 in the 100 I’ve also got him down as a medalist in both the 100 and 200 breast at worlds Reece Whitley’s winning time in the B-final of 200 breastroke should be a new PB for him (2.10.82 his previous PB at Junior Worlds 2017) Just a detail: in the women’s 100 back the fastest swimmer coming home was Taylor Ruck in 30.72 Michael Andrew 2020 Olympic Team 100 Backstroke From this I thought Andrew had gone like a 52 More from James SutherlandSee All June 01st, 2021 Europe, International, News, Previews & Recaps Her 5th place finish here is a solid performance for her first race since her retirement from the sport in November 2016 Alshammar is one of the most decorated swimmers of her time in swimming and managed t0 collect 21 major international medals in the event between 1997 and 2011 Therese Alshammar‘s Major International 50 Freestyle Medals Along with her extensive list of podium finishes Alshammar also became the first woman to swim under 24 seconds in the short course version of the event At the 2000 Short Course World Championships Alshammar posted a 23.59 to improve upon her own world record of 24.09 from the prior year In a post-race interview according to SVT Sport Alshammar shared that she didn’t go into the race with many expectations despite the fact that it is her favorite event Alshammar added that her main focus for the meet will be the 100 freestyle which is set to take place tomorrow Alshammar has also twice broken the 100 freestyle world record first in 1999 with a 52.80 and then in 2000 with a 52.17 Coleman was added to the team following her 24.54 50 freestyle at the 2021 European Championships which got under the 24.77 FINA A standard but was not named to the team in the 100 free despite her 54.12 in the event at Euros which is quicker than the 54.38 FINA A cut Alshammar’s most likely shot at a nomination will come in the 100 freestyle need to deliver a solid swim in order to position herself amongst the top of the Swedish 100 freestyle rankings Swedish Women 100 Freestyle Ranking During Olympic Qualification Period (March 1 Alshammar’s best time is a 53.58 from World Championships back in 2009 and ranks her as the third fastest Swedish woman behind Sarah Sjostrom‘s 51.71 from 2017 and Michelle Coleman‘s 53.04 from 2019 Alshammar is entered in tomorrow’s 100 freestyle as 17th seed in the event with a 56.20 split 54’s on the relays at Euro’s with Sara’s 54.30 being the fastest Maybe Therese is aiming to help out the relays Anything you can do to get Sweden into the final without having to swim Sjostrom is the dream scenario Sarah has had to spend seemingly her whole career waiting for gamechanging pickup for an ISL team like Tokyo which was in dire need of female sprinters last year I’d imagine even now that not many people would be able to beat her at a 50 fly She was one of my favorite swimmers growing up I would not be surprised if she pulled out a 55 mid swim tomorrow More from Ben DornanSee All 8x Olympic medalist Regan Smith graces the cover of SwimSwam Magazine’s 2025 Women In Swimming Issue Okaro dives into her experience at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2024 Short Course World Championships Aquatics GB released their Singapore roster with Olympic multi-gold medalist Duncan Scott heading up the British lineup for the World Championships June 20th, 2015 Britain, Europe, Industry, Lifestyle, Photo Fishbowl KATINKA HOSSZU (HUN) – CANET EN ROUSSILLON – LE 5 JUIN 2015 – PHOTO STEPHANE KEMPINAIRE/KMSP More from Gold Medal Mel StewartSee All May 27th, 2024 International, News, Video, Video Interview Maxime Grousset swam his last competition before the 2024 French Olympic Trials at the Canet-en-Roussillon stop of the Mare Nostrum Tour this weekend Grousset swept the sprint freestyle events clocking winning times of 21.92 and 48.71 in the 50 and 100 while also placing 2nd in the 100 fly in 51.92 Grousset is feeling good about qualifying for Paris and looking ahead thinks his home Olympics will be the best meet of his life there will be others who will have the best competition of their lives The 100 fly I’ve said before is for me my most anticipated race of Paris women’s side too will be great but this will be so legendary if each guy shows up ready for war The day I could been a contender now I was a 50 flat … Always love when the French speak English 🙂 Haven’t heard Maxime speak English much Who will swim freestyle in the medley if grousset covers the butterfly If Clement Secchi continues to improve (he swam a 51.3 100 fly in Eindhoven last month) Grousset will swim free and France has a real shot at a medal in the medley relay Ndoye-Brouard or Tomac/Marchand/Secchi/Grousset I love my French honey bunches Manaudou but he’s simply not in pre 2016 form when it comes to 100 free he could still throw down a 46 split because he’s HIM Maxime is the second fastest fly split holder..that advantage is huge than the free It would be a fairy tale ending for France after 100 years wait to be host nation again Incidentally the last host nation to win either of the two blue ribbon events is US (100 free Rowdy Gaines 100 sprint Carl Lewis both at LA84) he says exactly “that he is in a big hurry and can’t wait” 49.2 fly split and seems to always be a medal threat in 100 free/fly He’ll be there in Paris and finally get recognized more if the French put together a good medley Coleman started his journey in the water at age 1 and although he actually has no memory of that where he is still remembered for his stylish dragon swim trunks More from Coleman HodgesSee All “Today was not the perfect race yet,” Brazilian distance specialist Beatriz Dizotti said “I am ready to improve my time in the final and I am very happy.” La riocuartense siguió sumando reconocimientos en esta gran temporada 2023: también fue elegida como la mejor argentina del año en natación El COA celebró este viernes sus 100 años con una gala de la que participaron centenares de los célebres forjadores de su vasta historia Stege came from behind to claim gold in the 1500 free in a time of 16:13.59 setting a new Games Record and crushing her previous PB of 16:29.55 el marplatense Ulises Saravia se quedó con el bronce en los 50 espalda Pignatiello set the South American record in the 800 free and 1500 free and Argentine national marks in the 400 (4:06.61) 800 (8:24.33) and 1500 (15:51.68) at the Mare Nostrum Tour stops in Barcelona In Barcelona, she clocked a 15:51.68 at the Mare Nostrum Tour in the 1500 free The mark bested Chile’s Kristel Kobrich’s record 15:54.30 from the 2013 World Championships lowered her own Argentine Record from the 2017 World Junior Championships (15:59.51) and ranked third in the world behind American Katie Ledecky and China’s Wang Jianjiahe At the Canet-en-Roussillon, France, stop, Pignatiello clocked a South American and Argentine national record in the 800 free (8:24.33) in a silver medal effort In the 400 free besting her own record of 4:08.33 from the 2017 World Junior Championships Pignatiello continued her stellar season and swept the distance freestyle events in Lima Angela Martinez Guillen won her first over individual World Cup title in her home country Italy swept the podium on the men’s side Olympic champions Kristof Milak and Tom Dean are among the newly announced commitments to the Monaco Mare Nostrum stop from May 17-18 June 01st, 2021 Europe, International, Mare Nostrum, News, Records Kregor Zirk‘s 2021 record breaking spree continued on the opening day of the 2021 Mare Nostrum stop in Canet as the Estonian downed his National Record yet again in the men’s 200 freestyle The 21-year-old won the event in decisive fashion in a time of 1:46.90, improving on his previous record of 1:47.01 set just two days prior at the first Mare Nostrum meet in Monaco who has represented Energy Standard in each of the first two International Swimming League seasons also raced the event at the 2021 European Championships in Budapest clocking 1:47.78 in the prelims before going 1:47.16 in the semi-finals to finish in a tie for 10th overall Below are Zirk’s splits in all four of his record-breaking swims in 2021 plus his semi-final effort at the European Championships After near-identical splitting in Stockholm Zirk clearly altered his strategy in Canet going out easier on the opening 100 (almost a full second slower than in Monaco) He now sits just over a tenth outside of the world’s top-25 ranked swimmers in the event this season Zirk’s time in Monaco also put him under the FINA ‘A’ standard of 1:47.02 for the first time, which should slot him onto Estonia’s Olympic team. Currently, 14-year-old female breaststroker Eneli Jefimova is the only Estonian swimmer confirmed for the team In addition to his quartet of 200 free National Records Zirk also took down the Estonian 400 free and 200 fly records at the European Championships posting respective times of 3:48.35 and 1:56.63 with the latter falling less than two tenths shy of the FINA ‘A’ cut (1:56.48) Tuesday World Subscribers only Friedrich Merz bets on two private sector converts to revive the German economy and reform the state World Subscribers only 'A Pope in the tradition of Francis': From New York to Ghana Catholics hope for continuity at the Vatican World Subscribers only Chancellor Merz's diplomatic first week 2025."> World Trump's proposal to reopen Alcatraz deemed 'absurd' in San Francisco World Subscribers only Founder of Sant'Egidio community fears next pope could undo Francis's legacy Opinion Subscribers only 'Russian gas and Europe is an old story that ended badly Economy Subscribers only Europe's steel industry flattened by crisis World Subscribers only How European countries plan to fund defense efforts France Subscribers only Macron announces citizens' convention on school schedules France Subscribers only 21 charged over French prison attacks as investigation narrows in on drug traffickers France Subscribers only French mosque stabber was driven by 'morbid fascination,' prosecutor says France Subscribers only At the trial of Kim Kardashian's robbers Videos World expos: From Paris 1855 to Osaka 2025 Videos How the Trump administration is attacking scientific research in the US Videos Tesla cars set on fire in Las Vegas as calls to boycott Musk's company grow worldwide Videos Can France's nuclear deterrent protect Europe Opinion Subscribers only 'It is pointless to imagine a significant wave of American academics leaving' Opinion Subscribers only 'The American dream is dying' Opinion Subscribers only 'The trade war creates new opportunities for Europeans and France' Magazine Subscribers only Tracking down the pianos taken from French Jews during the Nazi Occupation Magazine Subscribers only Eve Rodsky the American helping couples balance the mental load Magazine Subscribers only Desecration or more glory Joan Didion's private diaries are revealed Magazine Subscribers only For Jewish cartoonist Joann Sfar 2025."> Pixels Subscribers only Golden Owl solution is revealed but leaves players of 31-year hunt disappointed Pixels Subscribers only Secrets of decades-long Golden Owl treasure hunt to be revealed Lifestyle Inside Chanel's French leather workshops Culture Subscribers only The marvelous bronzes of Angkor on display at the Musée Guimet in Paris Two blazes in southern France that forced the evacuation of thousands and destroyed hundreds of hectares have been brought under control Burning vegetation next to a road near Frontignan as a fire hit 300 hectares in the Herault department in southern France on August 18 PASCAL GUYOT / AFP Two wildfires in southern France forced several thousand people to flee before the blazes were brought under control Some 3,000 holidaymakers were evacuated from a camping site to a municipal building in the coastal town of Canet-en-Roussillon in the face of a fire fanned by strong winds The fire, which destroyed one mobile home and partially damaged five others, was brought under control, they said. Further up the Mediterranean coast, a fire that forced dozens from their homes in the coastal town of Frontignan "The fire has been under control for two and a half hours now," a spokesperson for the regional firefighters "We're still working on it because there are several hot spots where the risk of it flaring are high," he added Of the 600 firefighters who rushed to put out the fire on Sunday half were expected to keep working on the site throughout the day which has destroyed at least 300 hectares of land ignited near the A9 highway from Montpellier to the Spanish border Firefighters emptied the swimming pools of private homeowners to tackle the blaze Lecture du Monde en cours sur un autre appareil Vous pouvez lire Le Monde sur un seul appareil à la fois Ce message s’affichera sur l’autre appareil Parce qu’une autre personne (ou vous) est en train de lire Le Monde avec ce compte sur un autre appareil Vous ne pouvez lire Le Monde que sur un seul appareil à la fois (ordinateur En cliquant sur « Continuer à lire ici » et en vous assurant que vous êtes la seule personne à consulter Le Monde avec ce compte Que se passera-t-il si vous continuez à lire ici Ce dernier restera connecté avec ce compte Vous pouvez vous connecter avec votre compte sur autant d’appareils que vous le souhaitez mais en les utilisant à des moments différents Nous vous conseillons de modifier votre mot de passe Votre abonnement n’autorise pas la lecture de cet article merci de contacter notre service commercial The Mare Nostrum Tour wrapped up last month but not before a newcomer to the Hong Kong elite squad made his record-breaking debut 22-year-old Maana Patel lowered her own Indian National Record in the women’s 100 backstroke at the Canet stop of the 2022 Mare Nostrum tour we’ve seen some of the fastest non-championship meet swims of the year come during the Mare Nostrum Tour After getting an enormous amount of racing in over the 3-meet circuit Andrew will stay in Europe and prepare for Worlds The 2022 Mare Nostrum Series concludes today at tour’s final stop in Canet where several swimmers are looking to finish huge weeks atop the podium March 11th, 2022 Asia, International, Mare Nostrum, News, Previews & Recaps Key swimmers on the Japanese national team are headed to the 2022 Mare Nostrum tour in May marking the first time in three years they’ll have participated as a team Both men confirmed to SwimSwam they will be racing at the Barcelona and Canet stops of the tour As a reminder, the Mare Nostrum dates and city order changed as a result of the insertion of the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest The new Mare Nostrum schedule is as follows: After competing at Mare Nostrum some Japanese swimmers will return to their home nation to train while others will continue on to altitude camp at Sierra Nevada All will eventually convene upon Budapest at the end of June to take on the world and try to improve their less-than-expected medal results from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games The aforementioned Hanaguruma and Mizunuma were just two of the top performers from the Japanese Sweleciton Meet Hanaguruma snagged the 200m breast gold in 2:07.99 while Mizunuma posted the first-ever 100m fly time under 51 seconds for Japan in 50.86 Excited to see what our upcoming top swimmers got what it takes outside of Japan Much like Aussies needing to also compete off-home soil Not finding it in Asia news (on SS) and not sure where else to look JASF has released the world university games team but not sure on any other June 02nd, 2021 Europe, International, Mare Nostrum, News, Previews & Recaps Swedish sprint legends Sarah Sjostrom and Therese Alshammar continued their comeback campaigns on day 2 of the Mare Nostrum Series in Canet Sjostrom’s hiatus from competition has been much shorter lasting from February 2021 when she broke her elbow while Alshammar’s made her return more than 4 years after her November 2016 retirement Both Sjostrom and Alshammar raced the 100 free on day 2 of the meet. Sjostrom earned a bronze medal in the event with a 54.84 while Therese Alshammar wound up in 8th place in the B final with a 58.41 That was an improvement for Sjostrom upon her prelim swim of 54.90 while it was a bit slower for Alshammar compared to her morning swim of 58.82 This is the first step back for Sjostrom en route to the Tokyo Olympics at which she is expected to race the 100 freestyle Sjostrom said in a post-race interview with SVT Sport that she hopes to develop more speed in the coming month Alshammar also spoke to SVT after the race and explained that she hopes to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in the 4×100 freestyle relay Alshammar will likely need to rank within the top 6 Swedish women throughout the Olympic qualifying period of March 1 That will mean a decent drop from Alshammar’s 58.41 considering that current 8th rank Alicia Lundblad holds a 56.49 Swedish Women 100 Freestyle Ranking During Olympic Qualification Period she can’t yet be counted out as one of history’s greatest sprinter Alshammar has an impressive resume in the 100 freestyle including Olympic silver in 2000 as well as 2 short course world records in 1999 (52.80) and 2000 (52.17) Should Alshammar qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games it will be her 7th Olympic appearance having raced in 1996 Swedish Federation Sports Manager Ulrika Sandmark offered her remarks on Sjostrom and Alshammar’s Olympic conquests after their respective 100 freestyle races “My expectations are that she will be able to swim in a way that she will be satisfied I want her to be able to feel that she is on her way back and can perform so that she feels satisfied.” Sandmark mentioned the June 27 deadline and noted that they planned to make final decisions on who they will take to Tokyo at the last minute likely in order to consider all their options While Alshammar isn’t entered to race at the next stop of the Mare Nostrum series later this week in Barcelona she will have more opportunities to improve her 100 freestyle time including at the Sette Colli Trophy in Italy later this month both Sjostrom and Alshammar raced the 50 free on day 1 of the meet Here is a full summary of their prelim and final swims in both the 50 and 100: Just .05 faster than Sjostrom’s long course record Article mentions sjostroms prelims swim but not alshammar’s which was nearly a second faster Sjostrom went a 54.84 and Alshammar said she’s hopes to qualify for the 4×100 free relay… “Confirms” made me think twice about whether that was some non-U.S Dara Torres took 7 years off from training and still went 24.0 and split a 52.44 100 free it was that weird-ass stretching routine and whatever brand of amino acids she was taking In her 7 years off of competitive swim training it’s not like she got Phelps fat and out of shape Not many elite women sprinters go to like 0% body fat Her strength to body weight ratio was insane Why couldn’t that be done without PEDs If you haven’t been to a gym and have some 140 lb woman kick your ass with weights Two seconds in a month—will be interesting to see if she can do it January 15th, 2022 Australia, International, News, Paris 2024 Swimming Australia announced it would be adopting a radically different model to Olympic qualification moving its sole Trials selection meet to sit just weeks out of the main event instead of several months Flash forward to 2022 and Swimming Australia is reportedly unveiling more fundamental changes under its new pre-Tokyo head coach Rohan Taylor installing new selection procedures for both this year’s World Championships and Commonwealth Games Taylor explained the mentality of the sweeping changes to News Corp this week what does each athlete need to do to be at their best for Paris Do they need to take their time and build up slowly Or do they need to be racing a lot of competitions “That’s where the individuality of it comes in and that’s what we’re trying to do here “For some older swimmers who are looking to extend themselves to Paris the slower approach may suit them but for the young up and comers they‘ll all want to be at worlds so it gives opportunities to everyone.” Says Taylor of giving elites the option of forgoing Fukuoka “[The athletes] will still have an opportunity to go to the Comm Games but they won’t have to rush back and try to push themselves “By doing this, we’ll open up opportunities for others to jump in and get positions but more importantly, we’ll get more racing opportunities under pressure.” (News Corp) This year’s FINA World Championships are on the books for May 13th through May 29th in Fukuoka England has the swimming competition slated for July 29th through August 3rd Swimming Australia is holding its selection Trials in early April in Adelaide with the top two finishers from each event earning automatic qualification Australia has set its own qualification times which were faster than the FINA ‘A’ time standards The nation wasn’t alone in this practice as Great Britain and Japan are both notorious for setting super quick qualification times that would require been beating the national record to achieve Australia is instead sticking to the FINA ‘A’ qualifying times outright includes automatically picking the Trials winner in each event where 3 athletes are allowed per nation for the Commonwealth Games will be filled via times produced at the World Championships Sydney Open or the Monaco stop of the Mare Nostrum Series Swimming Australia has laid out the following high-level racing schedule for the current Olympic cycle They were all preparing to peak in 2020 but that got interrupted I think peaking for two majors in one year is tough If they turn up underdone they get beaten or swim below their best we know it’s not a world class event but we like the flood of medals They want to focus on comm games because they have a chance to do something big They won 28 golds in 2018 and with covid post-poning everything World’s is happening in 2023 as well Because comm games is viewed like a mini Olympics just without the US 2019 world’s weren’t even streamed in Aus and only swimming/aquatic fans know they are on Depending on what priority CAN chooses to give CG; there will be some closely contested events at CG … and indeed some where various Brits apply a very firm boot to AUS hindquarters but the devolution of GBR into smaller national entities will most likely see most if not all relays go AUS way is it a particularly good look strutting around like you’re the greatest thing since canned beer …… when you’ve “ducked” racing the real competition and indeed an extended break is fine and in some cases advisable where there are legitimate health/injury issues in question and I have absolutely 0 issue with those who decide to essentially sit out 2022 but… Read more » One would have to assume Swimming AUS has struck a sweetheart deal with Sports AUS with regards to the “benchmark meet” of the year (on which funding is calculated usually World Champs for most sports) …… or otherwise they’re shooting themselves in the foot Arguments that CG are more commercially viable with regards to parlaying a meaningful commercial sponsorship no longer really hold water; 2006 was probably the last time this was true; any such deals they may get leading into/post CG are likely to be transient nor do I see them as being sustainable given they’re battling to find willing host cities going forward however they CAN serve the purpose… Read more » it can be revealed that Swimming Australia has also agreed to scrap its old ruthless policy and follow the official qualifying standards after being criticised in the past for imposing its own tougher benchmarks that not even the US used This seems more like they’re reverting back to FINA QTs for more than just this year Its primarily been Olympics rather than Worlds there the QTs have been considered tough but the reality is that they have not been “across the board” those QTs have been FINA A or only incrementally tougher In events where the current standard/depth IS such that the FINA A is a relative doddle make these judgements on an event by event basis As for having additional “selection consideration” events for this year and next year; I’m OK with giving it a trial and see how it works out AM pleased to see they will still with Olympic Trials… Read more » I don’t think the trials only 5 weeks before Olympics does many favours for the longer event swimmers Rohan Taylor mentioned this problem in a podcast Having a separate qualifying meet for 800 and 1500 earlier in the year wouldn’t work well for those that also swim the 400 This may/may not have some credence but were they doing better under the old … and failed methods of having to peak twice (April then Jul/Aug) Unless the likes of Short and/or someone else can make major strides; AUS is a non factor in M1500 and I see McLouglin being optimised at 400; likewise with Neill as 200/400 No system is perfect but the cost/benefit analysis going off Tokyo has to read strongly in the benefits column Your point about a junior team would be good especially since australia is not sending a team to junior worlds this year I could get on board with a team weighted towards those who make a trials final but miss the team (a team makeup similar to WUG) and those who could medal at junior worlds (going from times at national age/trials) Maybe allocate 1 spot per individual event I thought that was only the case when junior worlds was happening in 2021 Have they said it’ll also apply to 2022 Well to be fair commonwealth games have the right of way in 2022 since their event is every four years whereas FInA has worlds sc and long course scheduled every 6 mths now it seems This decision seems to be about not interrupting the usual flow of peak meets heading into Paris but then FINA’s gone and given Worlds to Qatar in November next year thus ruining their plan to peak in July each year heading into Paris anyway Well I guess my point if you can’t blame swimmers for choosing Comm Games or ISL meets instead of FINA events if FInA events have become dime a dozen and not everyone competes in FINA meets anyway so it’s not just an Aussie thing Boris declares 2 weeks of wine & cheese nights permitted for all Britain I don’t agree with giving priority to the CG’s but dropping those ridiculous arbitrary qualification times and going back to the FINA ‘A’ cuts is a good thing The problem is that in the year after an Olympic year too many athletes take long lay-offs or skip the WC’ altogether I’ve always maintained it would be a better event with greater prestige if it was held every four years Can kind of see where Australia is coming from with their decision to not focus on worlds due to how many international competitions there will be this year for them worlds SC (although not a focus for most of the top Aussies) as well as swimming Australia being aware of the fact many of their swimmers will want to do ISL Rising UNC senior Skyler Smith opted to get way out of her comfort zone this summer in an effort to perfect her 100 breast race plan for the US Olympic This meant traveling abroad (for the first time in her life) alone to the 2024 Mare Nostrum Tour Smith saw the immediate effects of this kind of racing at the first leg of the tour in Canet where she logged a PB in the 100 breast at 1:07.83 he’s representing a French team so I missed him in the results April 27th, 2017 International, News The organizers of the XXXVth edition of the International Swimming Meeting of Monte Carlo (Monaco) announced today that about 20 Australian swimmers will join the first stop the Mare Nostrum series 2017 Top 20 FINA Points – best perfomances More from Daniela KapserSee All June 11th, 2019 Brazil, Latin America & Caribbean, International, Mare Nostrum, News, Records but settled for second behind her winning time of 8:24.25 Pignatiello was spotted wearing air pods during the whole 8-and-a-half minute race She would later joke on Twitter with a fan that there wasn’t any music playing Queremos saber si estaba escuchando AC/DC @delfipigna 😂😂😂Genia de las genias geniales más genias! Te amamos❤️#LaSobriDeTodos — Sebastián Beltrame (@sebas23CARP) June 11, 2019 A post shared by Fernando Cicutti (@fercicutti) Her previous mark was set at the 2017 FINA Junior World Championships where her then lifetime best and national record of 8:25.22 won her gold Pignatiello’s one-second drop also makes her the first South American woman ever under 8:25 in the event Her time also re-broke the same South American record she held from 2017 Her time is just outside of the top 25 all-time performers list The 19-year-old also holds the 1500 SCM South American record (15:48.32) putting her as the 11th-fastest performer in history in that event Pignatiello holds the 7th-fastest time in the world this year behind Canet winner Kesely Pignatiello holds three other freestyle national records (200/400/1500 free) and two relay national records (400 FR-R Tempo trainer rhythm could be saved as song but isn’t she the fastest ever with Air Pods Couldn’t air pods be considered am illegal aid Pacing aid 100% illegal- sounds like an honest mistake/no intent Didn’t she go her previous best at Junior Words not World’s Nick has had the passion for swimming since his first dive in the water in middle school Nick had expanded to IM events in his late teens but memorable NCAA Div III swim experience at Calvin University More from Nick PecoraroSee All Duncan Scott featured prominently in an exciting men’s 200 free final that closed out six days of racing at the Aquatics GB Championships in London Among the group of 14 achieving selection at the preliminary opportunity is 11 Paralympic champions June 20th, 2015 Britain, Europe, Industry, Lifestyle The indomitable Katinka Hosszu and arena together have created a first class mini-collection of swim essentials that reflects this superlative athlete’s spirit and ethos: bold the three-piece capsule collection is composed of a training swimsuit The swimsuit features ‘Iron Lady’ graphic lettering all over in sparkling silver against a black background and is constructed in arena’s ultra-durable and comfortable Max Life a revolutionary swim fabric that ensures a perfect fit and unsurpassed performance It is also exceptionally chlorine resistant which makes it the ideal suit for dedicated athletes who spend hours in the pool The Light Drop back combines a sporty look with an enviable fit and a feminine sophisticated feel as well as ensuring maximum control and freedom of movement The sleek silicone swim cap shares the same lettering as the swimsuit with the words ‘Iron Lady’ in white with black shading dotted with just a touch of light-catching crystals against a vibrant red background with a cool and stylised portrait of Katinka across the front the fitted cotton t-shirt conveys her moxie grit and determination in a sexy yet powerful visual drawn from the world of graphic novels and transforms one the most winningest swimmers in recent history into an aquatic superhero ready to take her mark time and time again becoming the Iron Lady has been life changing but in how I see and handle the world on a daily basis it became my alter ego for when I train or step onto the blocks for a race the Logo has always served as a reminder that hard work always pays off and that with great talent comes a huge responsibiltity to push the limits and see just how far I can go with that talent Since I was a litle girl watching Michael Jordan with my father I have always dreamed of being a professional athlete with their own product line so when Arena agreed to collaborate with my Iron Lady Brand My hope is that the line will offer swimmers a glipse into what is possible in the sport As well as serve as a reminder that all the hard work they are putting in will come back to them at some point that they should continue to push themselves and keep taking those baby steps toward their goals and dreams.” The Katinka Collection will be available from beginning of August 2015 in time for the 16th FINA World Championships at the Kazan arena store on-line on the arena website and in select stores in Budapest its nice to see a swimmer get to this level I dont know if it is for her performances or her management Swimming Australia has sent Thomas Fraser-Holmes home from Monaco, where he was in town to compete in the first stop of the Mare Nostrum series, after he was officially suspended one year for missing three out-of-competition anti-doping tests Swimming Australia high performance chief Wayne Lomas told Fraser-Holmes that the ban was effective immediately and that he would return to Australia immediately He also asked that Fraser-Holmes check out of the team hotel as soon as possible as Swimming Australia National Team head coach Jacco Verhaeren had already withdrawn Fraser-Holmes from the competition The report also indicates that Fraser-Holmes is appealing his suspension but that it will take effect even while the appeals process is ongoing Lomas also indicated that Fraser-Holmes would be cut off financially by Swimming Australia and that he would not be allowed to resume his usual traning during the suspension “Regarding your ongoing training upon your return to Australia our lawyer has advised that nothing contained within the sanction prevents you from training in a public facility but you are not able to train under the guidance of an ASCTA Accredited Coach or Coach in any way connected to Swimming Australia through funding or membership,” Lomas wrote if you do choose to continue training at Bond you do so at a time separate to the times that the rest of the squad’s training time “The final advice we have received is that payments from Swimming Australia must also cease … I know that this must be a very difficult time for you and reiterate to you that your well-being is paramount to all of us as we collectively navigate the legal requirements of the Anti Doping Policies and ensure the care of you.” Read more from news.co.au by clicking here Roughly 600 firefighters rushed to put out a pair of wildfires on Sunday News | World Thousands of people were evacuated as a pair of wildfires spread across southern France Around 3,000 holidaymakers were forced to leave a campsite in the coastal town of Canet-en-Roussillon, near the city of Perpignan Elsewhere dozens were forced to leave their homes in the coastal town of Frontignan, near the city of Montpellier before both blazes were brought under control "The fire has been under control for two and a half hours now," a spokesman for the regional firefighters Some 600 firefighters rushed to put out the fires on Sunday and half of them were expected to keep working throughout Monday which has destroyed at least 300 hectares (740 acres) of land ignited near the A9 highway leading to the Spanish border It comes as wildfires continue to ravage parts of Europe Huge blazes have spread across Greece killing one person and forcing locals to flee their homes Satellite images of East Attica revealed the scale of the devastation last week as swirling winds hampered efforts of hundreds of firefighters and dozens of water-dropping planes in Athens’ northeastern suburbs Authorities said at least 18 people were injured mostly due to smoke inhalation as the blaze reached outlying sections of a suburb Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Royals watch historic flypast as huge crowds turns out for VE Day 80th anniversary  Royals watch historic Red Arrows flypast for VE Day 80th anniversary UK tourists face major travel shake-up as Dubai airport set to close David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash in London 'shut down' by council over noise complaints David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash 'shut down' over noise complaints The Sunday TimesFrom his home on Avenue Eugène Sauvy in Canet-en-Roussillon Shaun Edwards turns right and walks down Rue de Hollande then takes another right onto Avenue de la Méditerranée Less than five minutes and there it is in front of him He wears the shirt of the France team that he now helps to coach Ronan O’Gara torpedoes a diagonal kick to the corner I had asked about memories that gave him a sense of having achieved something knowing it couldn’t be that Challenge Cup or this grand slam Winning as much as he has; first as a rugby league player Peter Fitzgerald in town of Canet En Roussillon The chalet Peter Fitzgerald was staying in Peter Fitzgerald ex Anglo Irish Banker speaks with Conor Feehan Fri 28 Jun 2013 at 14:29THIS is shamed Anglo executive Peter Fitzgerald being confronted by the Herald while living it up in the south of France The man at the centre of the Anglo tapes controversy is staying at a five-star resort while the country seethes after hearing the explosive recordings in which he features The Herald tracked Fitzgerald to the exclusive Le Brasilia campsite in the picturesque town of Canet En Roussillon When asked if he had anything to say about the scandal Fitzgerald said that he “regrets the tones of the conversations” he added: “I wasn't part of the senior executive of the bank at the time and that's all I can say on the matter.” Fitzgerald featured in tapes released by the Irish Independent on Monday in which he is in conversation with John Bowe the pair discussed how the Central Bank had been told by Bowe that Anglo Irish Bank needed €7bn Fitzgerald asks where the figure came from to which Bowe replied: “Just as Drummer [David Drumm] would say It was Fitzgerald that suggested the Central Bank would have “skin in the game” when he was told by Bowe that the figure of €7bn would not be enough to bail out Anglo that the figure required would be much higher Both men described the prospect of Anglo being nationalised as “fantastic” as they believed this would allow them to keep their jobs and become civil servants Bowe had been involved in negotiations with the Central Bank Fitzgerald had not been involved in negotiations and has said he was unaware of any strategy or intention to mislead the authorities It emerged today that Fitzgerald has stepped down from his current position as boss of a counselling association The Irish Association of Alcohol and Addiction Counsellors said in an email that the ex-Anglo man had “tendered his resignation yesterday” He was interim chef executive with the organisation Peter conveyed his best wishes to the organisation in the important work being undertaken,” the email said Transport Minister Leo Varadkar described the revelations in the tapes as “stomach-churning” Mr Varadkar said he was struck by the “arrogance the avarice and the absolute contempt for the public authorities” displayed by some executives As the controversy over the tapes raged at home and in Germany the Herald found Fitzgerald staying in a luxury bungalow with his family When asked if he had anything to say to the people of Ireland about the tapes and his role in the conversations he hesitated The Herald put it to Fitzgerald that the parliamentary leader of Angela Merkel's CDU party in Germany had said the Anglo tapes were “disgusting” and asked Fitzgerald to make a comment on the issue “I've already put forward my statement,” he said again We observed him dining in the resort's restaurant and enjoying the musical entertainment He appeared to be unrecognised by anyone else Anglo's former Director of Retail Banking wore a heavy arm brace and frequently checked his smartphone throughout the evening Dressed in a blue T-shirt and white shorts he was then joined for a short time by his family before they went back to their chalet for the night Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel