The Vortex - July 2026: Sweep Sweeps Ndoye-Brouard To Paris Showcase For Showdown With Kós
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Thursday July 2
Yohann Ndoye-Brouard will turn his gaze to a home European Championships in Paris five weeks down the summer with a sweep of national backstroke titles completed on the last day of nationals in St. Étienne today, his final prep and taper ahead of him, his prospects bolstered by events a year ago in Singapore.
After titles claimed in 25.00 in the dash and 1:56.73 in the 200m, the French winner of bronze medals in the 100 and 200m World-title fights in Singapore last year, added the 100m crown in 53.44 to bring his selection-trials campaign to a close.
Ndoye-Brouard, coached since 2017 by Michel Chrétien at INSEP (the Paris Institut National du Sport performance centre), will now rejoin battle with Hubert Kós in Paris. The Hungarian has no senior honours on backstroke at European level - but his star win that stroke has risen stratospehrically since he was 200m medley champion back at his own home Europeans in Budapest, 2022, and again at Belgrade 2024.
Kós claimed Olympic gold in the 200m backstroke at Paris 2024, and last year added 200m gold and 100m silver to his backstroke trophy cabinet in finals that saw Pieter Coetzé of South Africa take 100m gold and 200m silver, Ndoye-Brouard making a big breakthrough with bronze for France in both races.
Previously, the French swimmer was coached for several years by his own mother, Vanessa, at the Dauphins d'Annecy club, where members include Yohann's younger sister Maty, also a backstroke specialist - and racing for the Cercle des Nageurs d'Antibes.
There's much more to come from her bro in Paris from August 10-16, Ndoye Brouard will look to step up to the roaring speeds he reached in Singapore:
Craig Lord
Craig Lord
You can catch up with Kós' ambitions on return to Paris in this interview at European Aquatics last month:
mediaeuropeanaquatics.org
The Singapore 100m was marked by a podium of sub-52s, Ndoye Brouard's 51.95 in lane 1 taking down the 15-year-old record that had stood as the European mark back in 2010 when Camille Lacourt claimed the continental crown in Budapest.
Lacourt was there to witness its part of the French broadcast crew. There were tears of joy all round from and for a swimmer who wears very special lenses in his goggles to improve acute impaired vision. Said the new French record holder with a nod to Lacourt's presence at the changing of the guard: “It means a lot. I was aiming for this time for a long time. It means a lot."
On his place as an outside smoker in lane 1, Ndoye Brouard said: “I knew that in Lane 1, nobody would see me, so it was a little bit easier. This medal means a lot. It’s been three championships where I finished not on the podium. Fourth, five, seventh at the Olympics, so I really wanted this medal so much.”
Today in St Étienne, the 100 back final was the first of the finals in the curtain-closing session and provided two tickets to Paris 2026, the champion followed home by Mewen Tomac in 53.68, the cut behind him at 53.95. Just outside were Jules Andre (54.20) and Mathys Chouchaoui (54.49).
It's been a fine week for French backstroke, a 58.25 French record from Mary-Ambre Moluh highlighting the progress on the women's side two days ago:
More French Championships coverage in our June Vortex:
Craig Lord
In other action on the last day in St Étienne....
The injured Maxime Grousset was much missed in the 50m free, but the title taker, Nikita Baez, racing for Lyon Natation Metropole, sped inside the Paris 2026 cut in 21.93, second-placed Cedric Gabali just 0.08sec shy of the cut on 22.13.
Just 17 this year, Sauveur Cristofini, racing for GFC Ajaccio, was among those who did not make the cut - but how close he was when he stopped the clock for the 400m free crown in an impressive 3:47.99. That was just 0.3sec shy of the cut for Paris 2026 but granted him the French 17 years age group record. No others got inside 3:50 this day.
The other winners of finals that ended with no-one inside the target time for the home showcase in August were Nika Godu, on 31.11 in the women's 50m breaststroke; Alexa Reyna, on 4:12.59 in the women's 400m free; and, in the absence of Olympic/World champion and World record holder Léon Marchand (out through injury - see June Vortex), Emilien Mattenet topped the men's 200Im in 2:01.42, the cut at 1:59 flat.
Wednesday, July 1
Sacha Velly On Aubry's Trail
On the penultimate day of the French Championships in Saint-Étienne, French swimmers achieved four more qualifying times for the European Championships in Paris.
Sacha Velly was first off there blocks and on his way to Paris for a home continental showcase August 10-16: he dominated the 1500m freestyle and clocked a personal best of 14:51.23 for victory, the time 5th fastest among Europeans so far this year.
The top 4? Team Germany's Johannes Liebmann, Sven Schwarz - both European 800m record setters in the past two years - Olympic marathon silver medallist from Paris 2024 Oliver Klemet, and Olympic marathon champion of 2020one and record four-time Open Water World champion of 2025, Florian Wellbrock. A formidable distance force that contributes to a big 'No!' of an answer to the daft question doing the rounds in the United States ('is distance swimming dead?).
All four of them eligible to compete in Paris under the four-per-nation rule that applies to heats at the championships. Two per nation are eligible for the final.
Velly, racing for FC Laon, and coached by Thomas Javaux at the Hauts-De-France / Lille performance centre, is in line to race I both the pool and open water for France this summer, and is tipped as the man most likely to break the French 1500m free record held by David Aubry at 14:44.66 since he finished seventh in the Olympic final at a home Olympics run Paris two years ago, the home crowd cheering him home.
The next-to-last day at the meet also featured a women’s 50m freestyle podium split by just 0.11, 0.05sec securing gold over silver, 0.06 silver over bronze: Mary-Ambre Moluh took the win (24.68), ahead of Analia Pigrée (24.73) and Marie Wattel (24.79). All three swimmers achieved the required qualifying time for Paris 2026.
In other events, Cyrielle Duhamel dominated the 200m medley in 2:12.72; Adélaïde Meuter pipped Lilou Ressencourt 2:11.60 to 2:11.80 in the 200m butterfly; and Sandro Henras-Marouf clocked a personal best of 1:56.99 to take there men's 200 'fly.
There was a technical problem with the start of the men's 100m backstroke final for men and the final will be staged win the last day of the championships.
See the June Vortex for coverage of the rest of the French Nationals +...
- The Sette Colli International
- Pro-Swim curtain-closer
- Australian Championships
- Other news and links to June coverage
Craig Lord
In other coverage this month so far:
Craig Lord
Craig Lord
