Swimming: at the Nîmes meeting, the future is in Toulouse… and Gard!

Le Nîmois Pablo Morales (à droite), triple médaillé aux derniers championnats de France juniors. MIDI LIBRE – E. DZ.

Occitanie regional meeting, from Friday until this Sunday, December 22nd afternoon in Nîmes. Without Léon Marchand but with some great people… and some from Gard.

It's a very beautiful calendar year of swimming that is ending for Occitanie and Gard, and the regional meeting in Nîmes is a great opportunity to celebrate it. And yes, Léon Marchand is from Toulouse by birth, still a member of the flagship club of the Ville rose, the TOEC.

Nicolas Castel and Philippe Lucas present in Nîmes

Nicolas Castel, one of his two coaches (with Bob Bowman), is also present this weekend at the Nemausa swimming pool with his other protégés from Haute-Garonne (like another well-known coach, Philippe Lucas).

“This meeting is a working competition, an opportunity to gauge ourselves as the first qualifying deadlines for future championships approach. With 56 clubs represented for a total of 519 swimmers and 2,431 commitments, this Nîmes event is a good year. When we exceed 450, it's good”, explains the trio Bernard Dalmon (president of the Occitanie League) – Richard Lagrave (deputy president) – Julien Ville (general secretary).

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Swimmers competing in Nîmes were at the Olympics in Paris this summer

With 32,000 members, the Greater Region has almost returned to its pre-Covid level, which is an achievement for a sport that is mainly indoor. Quantity, therefore, and quality.

In the wake of Marchand, quadruple Olympic champion, who is also taking part in the 35th Indian Ocean meeting in Saint-Denis (La Réunion), Toulouse natives Guth and Syoud (Algerian), who were in Paris this summer, are at the party in Nîmes. Just like their teammates Herlem, Tessariol and Blanchetière, who have already been seen in the French team. Anna Santamans from Aix, winner of the 50m in Nemausa, was at the London Olympics in 2012.

A training department

There is also quality and performance in the Gard, which has 3,047 members. “It is a training department, which allows access to the next level, with two locomotives, Nîmes and Alès, which win national medals among young people”, appreciate the three Occitan leaders.

Indeed. During the last French championships for under-13s in Dunkirk and juniors in Massy, ​​at the beginning of the month, the Nautic-club nîmois and the CNC Alès accumulated 26 podiums, 13 each, including six titles. In the junior category, they ranked 13th and 11th respectively out of 311 structures!

2008-2011 Generation

“It's a great collective performance. The 2008-2011 Gard generation is very promising. I don't remember there being so many good young swimmers at the same time in the department”, confides Sébastien Andrieux, Alès coach and race referent at the committee.

A thousand members at the Nautic-club nîmois

“In 2020, we had two juniors and a junior qualified. In 2024, we had 8 and 4, and not just to show off. It's been about ten years since we've seen that”, rejoices Nicholas Chanal, head of competitive swimming at NC nîmois, one of the city's clubs with the largest number of members (a thousand).

Grégoire-Charmasson, Morales, Martin, Parat, Gil, Varraud, the Penard twins, Fronteau, Moreno, Vincent, Chetoui… Let it be said: the next generation is from Toulouse and Gard!

Sunday, December 22 at Nemausa swimming pool in Nîmes, heats from 8:45 a.m. to noon, finals from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.