Jérémy Desplanches will end his career after the Olympic Games in Paris.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old from Geneva is enjoying every moment he spends in the Olympic Village and the swimming pool in the Défense Arena, but is adamant: "I'm not here as a tourist."
In Tokyo in 2021, Jérémy Desplanches achieved something historic with third place in the 200 m medley, becoming only the second Swiss medal winner at an Olympic swimming competition. His ambitions are not the same this time. The fact that he can be in Paris at all is thanks to an invitation that he received at the last minute via a wild card and that he no longer believed in. Since then, he has been completely liberated.
"I feel very happy, reassured, I've arrived," smiled the Geneva native as he faced the media in Paris on Wednesday. "But I'm not here to be a tourist. I'm taking all the good energy I can find here with me," emphasized the 2019 World Championship silver medallist, who is expected to have his first outing in the Paris swimming pool on 30 July in the 4x200 m crawl.
Two days later, on August 1, the heats for the 200 m medley will take place. Has he set himself a specific goal for his favorite discipline? "That's a trick question," answers Desplanches. "I've realized that my enjoyment depends on my performance. I think I can make it to the semi-finals, maybe even further," he says cautiously.
First emptiness, then a special boost
The fact that he was able to kiss his hand so late seems to have triggered something in him. "Since I found out that I got a wild card for the 200 m medley, I swam six tenths faster in training. That's incomprehensible! I don't know if my coach was exaggerating," he laughs. "In any case, I want to make the most of the opportunity, I just want to do my best."
Although he had missed out on qualifying for the Olympics as an individual athlete, Desplanches naturally continued to train hard for the Games, in which he was originally only supposed to compete in the relays (4x200 m crawl and 4x100 m medley). "But I felt a void because I only trained crawl and backstroke. That was pretty strange," he explained.
The hunt for the Olympic limit (1:57.94 minutes over 200 m medley) took its toll on his psyche. "Normally, my mind has always been my strength," recalls the two-time European Championship medal winner (gold in 2018, silver in 2021). "I had hoped for this wild card, but I had zero fun in my last 200 m medley," he says.
Mixed feelings
As the Swiss record holder in the 100 m breaststroke, the Geneva native is looking forward to the 4x100 m medley on August 4: "If we (Antonio Djakovic/crawl, Noè Ponti/dolphin, Roman Mityukov or Thierry Bollin/backstroke and Desplanches himself) all reach our best level, we can reach the final," he says, who will celebrate his 30th birthday three days later.
Desplanches doesn't really like to look too far ahead. "I'm afraid of taking off my wetsuit for the last time. This race will be full of emotions for me" - and also for his teammates, "my little brothers", as he calls them. "They were boys when I met them, now they are men swimming for medals. I'm proud of them."
