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Mehdy METELLA
Sport Swimming
NOC France   
GenderMen
Born17 Jul 1992 in Cayenne, GUF
Height1.91 m
 Human Interest 
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team
 Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille: France
General Interest
Famous relatives
 His older sister Malia represented France in swimming at the Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008. She won silver in the 50m freestyle at the 2004 Games in Athens. (SportsDeskOnline, 26 Oct 2020; ladepeche.fr, 05 Dec 2012)
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach
 Julien Jacquier [club], FRA
General Interest
Other information
 PASSION REIGNITED
He regained motivation for swimming in the early part of 2019 after struggling in 2018. "I was feeling lost. I wasn't feeling good in my skin. I woke up one night crying and in a mess. Since 2016 I wasn't really appreciating the medals that I had won. Since September [2018] I was going to training but I had lost the spark. The flame had gone out, so to speak. I needed to know where I was, not just with swimming but also in my private life, and to find my motivation again. When we were in Cape Town [South Africa] for a training camp in February [2019] I had a moment of realisation. The response was right there in front of me - the answer was simply to keep working and enjoying the people around me. The next day I started feeling better, and since Cape Town the weight has gradually lifted off my shoulders. I feel lighter, more free. Sometimes now I get home from training, and all I can think about is getting back in the pool." (lemonde.fr, 19 Apr 2019)

TOKYO POSTPONEMENT RELIEF
In December 2019 he announced he would be unable to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as he required a shoulder operation in January 2020. However, the postponement of the Games until 2021 gave him time to recover from the surgery. "I considered it destiny, it's crazy. But at the same time, with all that is happening around the world, it's hard to feel happy. After the surgery I kept on going. I had accepted I would not compete at the Games, the year [2020] was lost so I focused on the world championships [originally scheduled for 2021]. Those would have been my Games. It also allowed me to take a rest. But if my motivation was at 500% then, it is at 1000% since the Games were postponed." (beinsports.com, 28 Mar 2020)
Ambitions
 To win an Olympic medal. (laprovence.com, 06 Apr 2018)
Further Personal Information
Occupation
 Athlete
Languages
 French
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto
 "I fight against the clock, nothing else. I prefer to stick to the facts." (laprovence.com, 05 Feb 2016)
Injuries
 He sustained a partial tear of the rotator cuff in his left shoulder in September 2019. The injury required surgery in January 2020, and he returned to training in June that year. (20minutes.fr, 18 Jun 2020; lequipe.fr, 06 Jan 2020; sports.orange.fr, 13 Dec 2019)

He was out of action for three months in 2017 due to an ankle ligament injury. He returned to training in December 2017. (laprovence.com, 06 Apr 2018; swimswam.com, 04 Feb 2018)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
 "For me, swimming began with football. Playing football was of course the dream of most boys, but on the day that I was to sign up to a club, I behaved badly at school. In order to punish me, my mother insisted that I forget about football for another year and go swimming instead. And I began to succeed in swimming. So it is thanks to my mother that I am now where I am."

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
9 2021 Tokyo, JPN 100m Butterfly 51.32
23 2021 Tokyo, JPN 100m Freestyle 48.68
10 2021 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:33.41
6 2021 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:11.09
6 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 100m Butterfly 51.58
2 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:10.53
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
5 2019 Gwangju, KOR 100m Butterfly 51.38
Semifinal 2019 Gwangju, KOR 100m Freestyle 48.65
8 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:13.34
3 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:22.11
8 2017 Budapest, HUN 100m Butterfly 51.16
3 2017 Budapest, HUN 100m Freestyle 47.89
5 2015 Kazan, RUS 100m Butterfly 51.24
1 2015 Kazan, RUS 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:10.74
3 2015 Kazan, RUS 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:30.50
Heats 2013 Barcelona, ESP 100m Butterfly 53.77
World Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
4 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 100m Butterfly 49.45
Semifinal 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 50m Butterfly 22.83
6 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 100m Freestyle 46.51
6 2016 Windsor, ON, CAN 100m Freestyle 47.08 
5 2016 Windsor, ON, CAN 100m Butterfly 50.16
  2016 Windsor, ON, CAN 50m Butterfly DNS
4 2016 Windsor, ON, CAN 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:24.69
2 2016 Windsor, ON, CAN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:07.35
6 2016 Windsor, ON, CAN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:26.33
Semifinal 2014 Doha, QAT 100m Butterfly 50.43
7 2014 Doha, QAT 50m Butterfly 22.68
Semifinal 2014 Doha, QAT 100m Freestyle 47.08
1 2014 Doha, QAT 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:03.78
2 2014 Doha, QAT 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:31.25
3 2014 Doha, QAT 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:22.26
European Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Heats 2021 Budapest, HUN 100m Butterfly 52.31
5 2021 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:33.10
3 2018 Glasgow, SCO 100m Freestyle 48.24
2 2018 Glasgow, SCO 100m Butterfly 51.24
Heats 2018 Glasgow, SCO 50m Butterfly 23.72
1 2018 Glasgow, SCO 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:22.07
Heats 2018 Glasgow, SCO 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:17.15
3 2016 London, ENG 100m Butterfly 51.70
Heats 2016 London, ENG 100m Freestyle 49.15
2 2016 London, ENG 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:33.89
Semifinal 2014 Berlin, GER 100m Butterfly 52.20
Heats 2014 Berlin, GER 100m Freestyle 49.68
Heats 2014 Berlin, GER 50m Butterfly  DNS
1 2014 Berlin, GER 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:11.64
2 2014 Berlin, GER 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:32.47
Heats 2012 Debrecen, HUN 100m Butterfly 53.47
4 2012 Debrecen, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
European Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Semifinals 2013 Herning, DEN 100m Butterfly 51.74
Heats 2013 Herning, DEN 100m Freestyle 48.64
Semifinals 2013 Herning, DEN 50m Butterfly 23.49
Heats 2013 Herning, DEN 4 x 50m Medley Relay  DSQ
5 2013 Herning, DEN 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay  
4 2013 Herning, DEN 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:25.96
7 2012 Chartres, FRA 50m Butterfly 23.21
3 2012 Chartres, FRA 100m Butterfly 50.66 
27 2011 Szczecin, POL 100m Butterfly 53.06
22 2011 Szczecin, POL 50m Butterfly 23.87
20 2011 Szczecin, POL 200m Freestyle 1:46.22
42 2011 Szczecin, POL 50m Backstroke 25.67
12 2011 Szczecin, POL 100m Freestyle 48.10
15 2011 Szczecin, POL 4 x 50m Medley Relay  
31 2010 Eindhoven, NED 50m Freestyle 22.68
16 2010 Eindhoven, NED 100m Butterfly 52.96
38 2010 Eindhoven, NED 200m Freestyle 1:50.34
27 2010 Eindhoven, NED 50m Backstroke 25.73
14 2010 Eindhoven, NED 100m Freestyle 49.32
Semifinal 2010 Eindhoven, NED 50m Butterfly 24.43
World Cup
Rank Year Venue Event Result
36 2018   Overall Ranking  
2 2018 Budapest, HUN 100m Butterfly 49.71
8 2018 Budapest, HUN 50m Butterfly 22.95
3 2018 Eindhoven, NED 100m Butterfly 50.31
8 2018 Eindhoven, NED 50m Butterfly 23.02
6 2016 Paris, FRA 50m Butterfly 23.38
7 2013 Doha, QAT 100m Butterfly 53.35