IM An Olympian: Lara Grangeon Styling Towards Tokyo

Courtesy of FINA, Gwangju, South Korea.

Ask 100 swimming observers and no one would have predicted that Lara Grangeon would have become an Olympian today.

Or that the 27-year-old would have finished so close to a podium finish in the most pressure-packed race of her life.

But the French swimmer from the territory of New Caledonia made her family, teammates and friends proud with her gutsy performance today at the 2019 FINA World Championships.  By finishing fourth, she qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games 10 km marathon swim.

The native from Nouméa has been long known as a medley and butterfly specialist in the pool, even competing at the 2012 London Olympics in the 400 IM, but all that hard work training hard individual medley and long butterfly sets in the pool have enabled her to have the speed and stamina to qualify today and possibly medal in the 10,000m freestyle event next year in Tokyo.

Women’s Olympic 10 km Qualification Race Results:

1. Xin Xin (China) 1:54:47.20
2. Haley Anderson (USA) 1:54:48.10
3. Rachele Bruni (Italy) 1:54:49.90
4. Lara Grangeon (France) 1:54:50.00
5. Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil) 1:54:50.50
6. Ashley Twichell (USA) 1:54:50.50
7. Kareena Lee (Australia) 1:54:50.50
8. Finnia Wunram (Germany) 1:54:50.70
9. Leonie Beck (Germany) 1:54:51.00
10. Sharon van Rouwendaal (Netherlands) 1:54:51.10
11. Aurélie Muller (France) 1:54:51.20
12. Viviane Jungblut (Brazil) 1:54:51.90
13. Arianna Bridi (Italy) 1:54:52.00
14. Fuwei Dong (China) 1:54:56.70
15. Esmee Vermeulen (Netherlands) 1:54:58.40
16. Anna Olasz (Hungary) 1:54:58.70
17. Alice Dearing (Great Britain) 1:55:05.90
18. Samantha Arévalo (Ecuador) 1:55:22.80
19. Angelica Andre (Portugal) 1:55:23.40
20. Anastasiia Krapivina (Russia) 1:55:24.90
21. Mariia Novikova (Russia) 1:55:26.00
22. Yumi Kida (Japan) 1:55:26.70
23. Reka Rohacs (Hungary) 1:55:26.70
24. Paula Ruiz (Spain) 1:55:31.20
25. Danielle Huskisson (Great Britain) 1:55:31.50
26. Maria Alejandra Bramont-Arias (Peru) 1:55:33.80
27. Špela Perše (Slovenia) 1:55:44.40
28. Eva Fabian (Israel) 1:55:44.80
29. Chelsea Gubecka (Australia) 1:55:45.20
30. Minami Niikura (Japan) 1:55:46.80
31. Michelle Weber (South Africa) 1:56:25.80
32. Julia Lucila Arino (Argentina) 1:56:32.20
33. Maria Vilas (Spain) 1:57:34.40
34. Alena Benesova (Czech Republic) 1:57:48.60
35. Kate Farley Sanderson (Canada) 2:00:23.90
36. Krystyna Panchishko (Ukraine) 2:00:28.60
37. Kalliopi Araouzou (Greece) 2:00:30.30
38. Eden Girloanta (Israel) 2:00:34.60
39. Tsz Yin Nip (Hong Kong) 2:01:14.60
40. Lenka Šterbova (Czech Republic) 2:01:15.50
41. Martha Sandoval (Mexico) 2:01:17.50
42. Paola Perez (Venezuela) 2:01:29.70
43. Martha Ruth Aguilar Ortega (Mexico) 2:01:42.10
44. Nataly Caldas Calle (Ecuador) 2:02:03.50
45. Chantel Lily Jeffrey (Canada) 2:02:19.90
46. Robyn Kinghorn (South Africa) 2:03:05.10
47. Justyna Dorota Bruska (Poland) 2:03:28.40
48. Sandy Atef (Egypt) 2:07:37.80
49. Liliana Hernandez (Venezuela) 2:07:38.40
50. Karolina Balazikova (Slovakia) 2:07:38.70
51. Mariya Fedotova (Kazakhstan) 2:07:42.50
52. Cho Ying Wong (Hong Kong) 2:07:43.40
53. Dayoun Lim (Korea) 2:07:50.90
54. Pimpun Choopong (Thailand) 2:08:16.60
55. Haeun Jung (Korea) 2:09:36.80
56. Yanci Vanegas (Guatemala)2:11:59.10
57. Famita Flores (Estonia) 2:12:00.60
58. Katawan Teeka (Thailand) 2:17:27.00
59. Hita Nayak (India) 2:17:32.30
60. Sofie Frichot (Seychelles) 2:18:07.70
61. Nikitha Setru Venugopal (India) 2:20:09.50
62. Camila Mercado (Bolivia) 2:23:09.70
63. Genesis Rojas (Costa Rica) 2:23:29.40
64. Merle Liivand (Estonia) 2:23:30.80

Watch the men’s 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games qualifier race live here on Tuesday on FINAtv.

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