Latest news with #FrenchTeam
Reuters
4 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Excited Marchand relishing reduced schedule in pursuit of medley record
SINGAPORE, July 26 (Reuters) - Leon Marchand is hoping a scaled-back schedule will give him a shot at taking out Ryan Lochte's long-standing world record in the 200 metres individual medley when the world championships begin in Singapore on Sunday. The Frenchman was the standout performer in the pool at last year's Olympics, winning the 200 metres and 400 metres individual medley plus the 200 metres butterfly and 200 metres breaststroke in Paris, but will be swimming a reduced programme over the coming eight days of competition. Marchand will not participate in the butterfly or breaststroke events, leaving the 23-year-old better rested to potentially break Lochte's 14-year-old record. "I think this is a transition year for me so I wanted to have a lighter schedule than usual," Marchand told the media on Saturday. "I wanted to focus on the 200 IM and the 400 IM and the relays with the French team. "I'm really excited to do less than usual, just to see how far can I go, how fast can I go in the 200 IM. "I've always done the 200 IM as a race before, the same as the rest, so it'll be fun (to have) a lighter schedule. "I'm just not used to starting on the Wednesday instead of the first day, which is good because I can finally cheer for my teammates." Marchand won gold in the 200 metres and 400 metres IM events at the 2022 and 2023 world championships and is the current world record holder in the longer of the medley events. Lochte's world record in the 200 metres individual medley has stood since July 2011, with Marchand swimming just six-hundredths of a second slower than the American's 1 minute 54.00 second mark when he won Olympic gold last year. "I'm excited for the Worlds. I want to be close to my (personal bests) in every single one of my races," said Marchand. "Of course, I want to break world records in the next few years. I don't know when that's going to happen. I still have a lot to do in the swimming world."
France 24
16-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Decathlon world record holder Kevin Mayer sits out 2025 season
The 33-year-old double world champion said that until two weeks ago he had still hoped to return for the world championships in Tokyo in September, but the "serious" injury had affected him "mentally and physically". "It's my first blank season, the first year that I won't be wearing the French team colours," Mayer told reporters in an online briefing. "I've had some really bad injuries in my career but this is the most serious so it's going to take more time. And I have no doubt that it will heal." Mayer, who also won Olympic silver medals at the 2016 and 2020 Games, said he was "playing his last hand" in choosing to halt his training for the 10-event decathlon to concentrate on specific strengthening exercises. The Frenchman, who set the world record of 9,126 points in 2018, has been dogged by injuries in the past two years. He was forced to drop out of the 2023 world championships in Budapest after feeling pain in his Achilles tendon after the 100m. Then his hopes of performing in front of a home crowd at the 2024 Paris Olympics were crushed when he injured his hamstring in a 110m hurdles race at the Paris Diamond League meeting just weeks before the Games. Mayer said he was still hopeful of competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "We all have our cross to bear. Mine is my physical state. I know very well that if I sort out the problem, I can go on for a very, very long time," he said. © 2025 AFP
Washington Post
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
All Blacks under pressure to improve in the 2nd test against France on Saturday
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The All Blacks are at a crossroads as they head into Saturday's second rugby test against France. After a fumbling performance in the first test in which they needed a late penalty to hold out a severely weakened French team, players and coaching staff are under pressure to produce huge improvement in the second match at Wellington.
RNZ News
09-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Hamiltonians disappointed French rugby team not hanging around
Hamiltonians are disappointed the French rugby team won't be spending the entire week in town before their match. Les Bleu have chosen to spend most of the week in Auckland, despite not playing a match there. Libby Kirkby-McLeod reports. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Reuters
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
England's French pressing problem leads to Women's Euro defeat
ZURICH, July 5 (Reuters) - England came into the Women's Euros as reigning champions and promptly fell into a trap set for them by a cunning French side who ruthlessly exploited their errors en route to a 2-1 Group D win on Saturday that puts the Lionesses in a precarious position after their opening game. A bright start for England resulted in a disallowed goal before giving way to a flat, listless performance that saw them concede two goals in the first half and, despite a late onslaught following a Keira Walsh goal, there were few positives England could take from the game. Faced with the lightning counter-attacking of France, England could not afford to give away the ball but they did so repeatedly and cheaply, especially in the middle of the field. "The positive is that I've not seen us like that, in terms of turning the ball over so much, for a while," England captain Leah Williamson said. "When you lose the ball cheaply, you're defending in an emergency. When you concede four or five counter-attacks in a row against quality like France have, it is tough." As England coach Sarina Wiegman pointed out after the game, the French were selective in how they pressed, waiting until England tried to pass their way out of small spaces and pouncing on any poor touch that was made. The French attack, which often looked static on the night, took winning possession as a cue to surge towards the English goal and by the time the Lionesses showed any sign of solving the puzzle posed by the French press, it was too late. England now face Netherlands on Wednesday knowing another defeat will see them out of the competition. "It was a big game as it was but now it's an even bigger game for us as a must-win," winger Beth Mead said. "We'll analyse this game that we've just played, we'll put ourselves in good stead, and we'll prepare the best we can for the Netherlands game."
