World Championships, Day One Prelims: Maxime Grousset Blasts French Record in 50 Butterfly

Maxime Grousset of France celebrates after winning the silver medal in the 100m Freestyle Men Final during the FINA Swimming Short Course World Championships at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia, December 15th, 2022. Photo Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

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World Championships, Day One Prelims: Maxime Grousset Blasts French Record in 50 Butterfly

Three men cracked the 23-second barrier to jumpstart the sprint events at the World Championships, headlined by Frenchman Maxime Grousset and his national record of 22.74. Coming off a pair of medals at last year’s World Champs, Grousset provided an indication that he’ll again be a major factor on the global stage.

En route to the top seed for the evening semifinals, Grousset took down the French record of 22.84, which was jointly held by Fred Bousquet and Florent Manaudou. Bousquet posted his time at the 2009 French Champs while Manaudou turned in his effort at the 2015 World Championships.

Joining Grousset in sub-23 territory were Great Britain’s Jacob Peters and Trinidad & Tobago’s Dylan Carter. Peters checked in with a performance of 22.85 while Carter was 22.89. Finishing fourth was Egypt’s Abdelrahman Sameh, who notched a national record of 23.10. He was followed by Switzerland’s Noe Ponti in 22.13.

The United States’ Dare Rose moved on to the semifinals in 23.27, which was good for a tie for ninth with Canadian Ilya Kharun and Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo (23.27). Kharun’s swim tied the Canadian record.

None of the medalists from last year’s World Championships were entered in the event. While reigning champion Caeleb Dressel did not qualify at the U.S. Trials, runnerup Nicholas Santos of Brazil has since retired. Meanwhile, bronze medalist Michael Andrew won the 50 fly at the U.S. Trials, but roster limits left him home.

Aussie Cameron McEvoy was knocked out of the prelims after finishing in a tie for 18th. Also eliminated was American Shaine Casas, who placed 29th.

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