Desplanches may only compete as a relay swimmer in Paris

The failure in Belgrade gives Desplanches food for thought. It marks the end of an era, as the man from Geneva will end his career after the Games in the French capital. Almost three years ago in Tokyo, the 2019 World Championship silver medallist swam the 200m medley in 1:56.17 minutes. He still ranks 19th in the all-time best list with this time. The time of 1:57.94 minutes, which was already the decisive time for qualifying for Paris, was just a formality for the tall blonde at the time.

This Olympic medal was an incredible thing, said Desplanches at the time in Tokyo. "It makes me want to work for Paris." But then the Frenchman made a mistake. To everyone's surprise, he planned a new Olympic cycle after having to complete the previous phase a year later than planned due to the coronavirus pandemic. Desplanches nevertheless thought he was on the safe side with all his plans. "I can't make the mistake of just getting started without thinking. I need to recover physically and mentally. The last few years have been tough," he said at the time.

Three years full of problems

However, the three years since the games in Tokyo have been characterized by a series of problems. The difficult period was triggered by Desplanches' decision to leave his mentor Fabrice Pellerin in Nice and join coach Philippe Lucas' group in Martigues. The change of coach made sense at the time, as Desplanches felt he could no longer continue to develop after seven years in Nice. But then a Covid illness put a spanner in the works. Due to the health problems, he struggled to find his rhythm again in his new surroundings.

The soon-to-be 30-year-old from Geneva is now aware that he overestimated himself and his resilience. Something kept getting in the way - in particular glandular fever and later a "burnout". Desplanches never found his top form again.

Desplanches, who was the man par excellence for major events between 2018, when he won his first European title, and the Olympic Games in Tokyo, has not managed to be on top form in the past two years. He finished fourth at the 2022 European Championships in Rome and failed to make it to the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, as well as in Doha in February of this year. He always swam faster in the heats than in the semi-finals.

The reason: the Geneva native did not feel able to swim three races within two days at the required high level. He therefore decided to give it his all in the morning heats. He narrowly missed the Olympic limit in these races, which only serve as warm-up races for the competition - by six hundredths in Fukuoka and by 23 hundredths in Doha.

Scoring panic

After the failure in Qatar, Desplanches was overcome with panic. Once again, he turned everything upside down for his everyday life as a top athlete and went back to training with Clément Bailly in Geneva. Thanks to micronutrients, he lost five kilos to reach his desired weight. But none of this helped. At the European Championships in Belgrade, he missed the limit by much more - over a second. "It makes me sick that I didn't make it," says Desplanches. "But from now on, it's all about preparing for my third Olympic Games in the best possible way."

Desplanches will be able to compete in the relay in Paris - either in the 4x100 m medley or the 4x200 m crawl. In Paris, he will play the role of "big brother" for the new, successful generation of Swiss swimming for the last time. Then he will step down. Desplanches: "But it's not a farewell in resentment. I can still think back to many great moments."