Olympic champ Muffat sets 800m freestyle record

ANGERS, France (AFP) –

France’s Olympic gold medallist Camille Muffat, pictured on November 15, set a new world record in the short course women’s 800m freestyle event at the French championships on Friday.

France’s Olympic gold medallist Camille Muffat set a new world record in the short course women’s 800m freestyle event at the French championships on Friday.

Muffat timed 8min 01.06sec, smashing the previous mark of 8:04.53 set by Italian Alessia Filippi in Rijeka, Croatia, in December 2008, a time before the ban on high-tech polyurethane swimsuits.

“My best time over the distance was 8:23,” Muffat said. “Fabrice (Pellerin, her coach) threw down the gauntlet and told me I could do 8.04. I couldn’t duck that!”

At the London Games this summer, the 23-year-old Muffat claimed gold in the 400m individual freestyle with a new Olympic record, as well as silver in the 200m freestyle and a bronze as part of the 4x200m freestyle team.

Her new world record follows that by her training partner Yannick Agnel in the men’s 400m freestyle on Thursday.