Great Grousset spearheads European efforts at Paris’ Giant Open
France’s Maxime Grousset headlines European efforts in a blockbuster weekend of swimming across the globe. The 26-year-old took three gold medals at the Giant Open in Paris – the same venue which will host the discipline at the European Aquatics Championships 2026 this August.
The Frenchman opened with a solid performance in the newly-named Olympic event of the 50m butterfly, a time that keeps him among the fastest in the world this season, before moving on to the 100m freestyle where he led from the front to win ahead of Nándor Németh and Josha Salchow. He then added the 50m freestyle title to set him up for what he hopes will be his first ever individual European long course title this summer.
While Grousset noted afterwards that he had been targeting a sub-48 performance in the 100m freestyle, the consistency across multiple races and strokes stood out, particularly at this stage of the season and in a venue that will carry added significance later in the year.
The Giant Open also produced a series of strong European results across the programme. The Netherlands’ Marrit Steenbergen took control of the women’s sprint and middle-distance freestyle events, winning the 50m freestyle ahead of compatriot Milou van Wijk and France’s Beryl Gastaldello.
She later returned to win the 200m freestyle, with Great Britain’s Freya Anderson moving into second place ahead of Hungary’s Panna Ugrai. Steenbergen also posted a personal best in the 100m freestyle during the meet.
Great Britain’s Angharad Evans again went close to the national record in the 100m breaststroke, clocking a time to match her time from Edinburgh the week previously and remain just outside of her British record. Behind her, Ireland’s Ellie McCartney and Germany’s Nika Godun completed the podium.
In the men’s 200m butterfly, France’s Sandro Henras-Maarouf touched first, edging Greece’s Apostolos Siskos, with Hungary’s Richard Marton close behind. Great Britain’s ten-time European champion Duncan Scott placed fourth.
Elsewhere, seventeen-time European champion and world record holder Adam Peaty continued his return to comepetition, with a bronze medal in the men’s 50m breaststroke, just behind Italy’s Simone Cerasuolo and Germany’s Melvim Imodu, who took respective gold and silver.
At the China Open, which also ran during the weekend, European swimmers were again competitive across several events. Italy’s Thomas Ceccon placed second in the 100m backstroke and added another silver in the 100m butterfly. In that butterfly final, Switzerland’s Noe Ponti claimed gold, improving on his season-best from the previous week.
The Netherlands’ Arno Kamminga secured the 200m breaststroke title as he continued his preparations, while Germany’s Lukas Martens finished second in the 400m freestyle, adding to his earlier silver in the 200m freestyle.
The main global talking point came in the men’s 50m freestyle, where Australia’s Cameron McEvoy set a world record of 20.88, the only non-European highlight to dominate the wider narrative across the weekend. Frousset spoke on that at the Giant Open:
“What Cameron (McEvoy) did is phenomenal,” he said through the French Federation. “It looks like he’s being pulled by a rubber band. I’ll try to get closer to his time tomorrow, but it’s really amazing!”
Across both meets, European swimmers showed solid early-season form, with several athletes already producing times that place them among the leading names globally, and with further racing opportunities ahead before the summer championships.
Click here for the full results from the Giant Open.
Click here for the full results from the China Open.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
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