French Mixed Relay Wins Gold at European Swimming Championships
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The French swimming team has won its first gold medal of the European Championships, in the mixed 4x100m medley relay.
A medley relay is a race where four swimmers each use a different swimming style: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle.
The French team's win was helped by a very fast final leg from Maxime Grousset, which was described as 'supersonic' because of its speed.
This gold medal came on the second day of the championships and was the first one for the French team in the competition.
As well as the gold medal, French swimmers took two more podium places on the same day, showing strong overall form.
One swimmer, named Muratory, was called a 'sensation' after an impressive performance that surprised many people.
Meanwhile, star swimmer Marchand did not compete that day, as he was given a rest.
Resting top swimmers during long championships is common, so they can save energy for later races.
The European Championships include many events over several days, with swimmers from across Europe competing.
With one gold and two other podium finishes already, the French team appears to be in strong form early in the competition.
More races are still to come, and French fans will hope for further medals in the following days.
Vocabulary10 words
- gold medal
- the top prize given for finishing first
- medley relay
- a team race using four different swimming styles
- backstroke
- a swimming style done on your back
- breaststroke
- a swimming style with wide arm and leg movements
- butterfly
- a fast swimming style with both arms moving together
- podium
- the place given to the top three finishers
- sensation
- a person or event that causes great excitement
- championships
- a major competition to decide the best in a sport
- supersonic
- faster than sound; here, used to mean extremely fast
- form
- how well someone is performing recently
Quiz
Answer key
1. A very fast final leg by Maxime Grousset 2. — 3. Three
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
The French swimming team has won its first _____ of the European Championships, in the mixed 4x100m medley relay.
A medley relay is a race where four swimmers each use a different swimming style: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle.
The French team's win was helped by a very fast final leg from Maxime Grousset, which was described as '_____' because of its speed.
This gold medal came on the second day of the championships and was the first one for the French team in the competition.
As well as the gold medal, French swimmers took two more _____ places on the same day, showing strong overall form.
One swimmer, named Muratory, was called a '_____' after an impressive performance that surprised many people.
Meanwhile, star swimmer Marchand did not compete that day, as he was given a _____.
Resting top swimmers during long championships is common, so they can save energy for later races.
The European Championships include many events over several days, with swimmers from across Europe competing.
With one gold and two other podium finishes already, the French team appears to be in strong form early in the competition.