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French swim star Marchand suffers injury scare before Europeans / Photo: OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE - AFP
French swim star Marchand suffers injury scare before Europeans
Swimming star Leon Marchand has pulled up with an injury scare before Monday's 200m breaststroke finals at the French nationals just weeks before the European Championships.
"Leon felt pain in his adductor. He has withdrawn from the 200m breaststroke (final) today," the French swimming team's national technical director Denis Auguin told journalists.
Earlier in the day, the 24-year-old had placed a surprise third in his 200m breaststroke heat in 2min 16.16sec.
The four-time Olympic gold medallist and seven-time world champion had gotten off to a flying start to the French championships, clocking the fifth-fastest time in history in the 400m individual medley final on Saturday.
He is scheduled to compete in four other events -- the 200m freestyle on Tuesday, the 200m butterfly on Wednesday and the 200m individual medley and 400m freestyle on Thursday.
"(Marchand is) receiving treatment. We'll probably have to wait until tomorrow (Tuesday). If there's an injury, we'll need to wait a bit to get a clearer picture," Auguin added.
The French nationals serve as a qualifying event for the European Championships, which will run from July 31 to August 16 in Paris.
H.Bauer--BlnAP
