World Swimming Championships: Maxime Grousset "easy" in the 50m butterfly, "fighter jet" David Aubry eliminated in the 400m

Lilou Ressencourt ( ^19th time in the 100m butterfly heats in 58''52, eliminated): "The semi-final was easy, so I'm pretty disappointed. I made some silly mistakes. I didn't feel tense because I was focused on myself, on what I know how to do and what I've done in the past, but I still had to be caught by a kind of unconscious pressure. It showed during my race, even though my time was decent. However, I would like to swim much faster than that. It's still a good start to these World Championships in my eyes, and I'm very happy to be here."

David Aubry ( ^23rd time in the 400m freestyle heats in 3:49.13, eliminated): "Nothing. I wasn't good on this one. I don't know what happens every time in my first race, I'm not in it, I'm heavy in the water even though I was doing well in the warm-up. And then during the race, I can't do it, I have no energy. I felt it from the first few meters where I saw everyone go by. It's frustrating because in training, I'm a fighter jet. For me, I'm a racing beast but at the Grand Prix level, that's not what it's like."

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Maxime Grousset (best time in the 50m butterfly heats in 22''74, qualified for the semi-finals): "With my very long touch, honestly, I didn't think I'd achieve that time. When I turned my head and saw 22''7 with a touch like that, it was a very cool moment. I felt very good. I think I can have even more ease and facility. I have the impression that I could go back without any problem for a second 50. It's a very good point that gives me a lot of confidence. I felt more powerful than my opponents after three or four arm strokes. It was quite easy, which is a great feeling."

Anastasiia Kirpichnikova ( ^19th time in the 400m freestyle heats in 4'13''92, eliminated) : "It was very hard. I hope it's because it was my first race, but I'm a little worried about tomorrow (this Monday with the 1,500m freestyle heats where she is the reigning Olympic vice-champion). At the Paris Games, I also had a complicated start in the 400m, but I still swam in 4'10''. At the French Championships, I think I swam faster too. At this rate, soon, I'll swim in 4'20''. More seriously, I don't hope so, but we'll see what happens."

We must continue our progress to be able to aim for a medal in three years at the Los Angeles Games.

Marie Wattel

Beryl Gastaldello ( ^5th time in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay heats, qualified for the final): "We're satisfied, we did what we had to do to get into the final with a good place. I'm proud of the girls and we all know we have a margin for victory for tonight's final (Sunday evening). Our goal will be to try to beat the French record."

Marie Wattel ( ^5th time in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay heats, qualified for the final): "We fielded our best team even though we know that some other countries that qualified for the final kept one or two girls in reserve to go even faster. So for the final, it looks complicated, but we set ourselves a goal this morning on the bus in terms of time, and if we achieve it, we'll be happy. We have to continue our progress to be able to aim for a medal in three years at the Los Angeles Games."

Yann Le Goff ( ^11th time in the men's 4x100m relay heats, eliminated): "It's a shame. For two of us, it was a first at the World Championships. Obviously, we had to enjoy ourselves as much as possible before thinking about the result. But despite that, we're not far from the final, which is a little frustrating. Everyone gave their best and we can't blame ourselves much. And it's always cool to swim in a pool like this, with this atmosphere. Personally, I'm still satisfied."