French swimmer Nathan Muratory broke the junior world record in the 200m backstroke heats at the European Swimming Championships on Tuesday morning, August 11. The 18-year-old swimmer recorded a time of 1:54.87 to take the fastest qualifying spot for the semifinals at the Saint-Denis pool.
Swimming in lane seven during the final heat, Muratory delivered a solid and controlled performance through the first 150 meters. He then produced a powerful final length to overtake Hubert Kos, the Olympic champion in the event and training partner of French Olympic star Léon Marchand.
Muratory's performance comes as promising young talents emerge in French swimming following Marchand's success at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Sauveur Christofini, two years younger than Muratory at 16, broke through earlier this summer at the French National Championships, while Muratory has now made his mark on an international stage.
His time of 1:54.87 stands as the third-fastest 200m backstroke performance in French swimming history alongside his new junior world record. In the same event, French teammate Yohann Ndoye-Brouard failed to qualify for the semifinals despite winning his heat.
Early training at US Colomiers
Muratory began swimming at age six and joined US Colomiers two years later at age eight. In 2021, local newspaper La Dépêche profiled him as a 13-year-old prospect within his age category.
His coach at the time, Alice Parmentier, described him as a well-balanced teenager who was very intuitive and versatile across all swimming strokes. He trained an average of 10 hours per week in the water in addition to physical conditioning work outside the pool.
Although he expressed a strong affection for backstroke and long-distance races, Muratory initially excelled across multiple disciplines. In 2023, he won short-course French age-group titles in the 400m individual medley and 400m freestyle, claimed silver in the 200m individual medley, and took bronze in the 50m and 100m backstroke.
His mother, Alexandra Muratory, said at the time that there was still a long way to go for him to reach his goals, but added that he was fully enjoying those emotional moments and that the family was proud of him. She gradually moved up within US Colomiers from assistant secretary to club executive.
She explained that neither she nor his father had ever taken up swimming, calling the sport a pure passion for her son. She said he entered the pool with pleasure and that his parents supported him at every moment.
Move to Font-Romeu and Canet 66
During the 2023-2024 season, Muratory won four age-group French national titles in the 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 400m individual medley, and 400m freestyle. He then departed US Colomiers to train full-time at the Font-Romeu National Training Center, where he had already trained for several years.
He also joined Canet 66 Natation, a historic club whose members have earned more than 60 French national titles and set numerous national records since the 1980s. The club previously featured French swimming figures Frédérick Bousquet between 1995 and 1999, Laure Manaudou between 2006 and 2007, and coach Philippe Lucas.
Canet 66 president Jean-Marie Portes told regional newspaper L'Indépendant that Muratory had shown steady progress since joining the club. Portes noted that although Muratory stands under 1.80 meters tall, his technical quality, fluidity in the water, and power give him the ability to swim fast.
European junior titles and US move
To prepare for the Saint-Denis event, Muratory skipped the French National Championships in Saint-Étienne to focus on the European Junior Championships in Munich. He won the European junior title in the 200m backstroke with a time of 1:55.88, which Portes described as a high-level performance placing him among the world elite across all age groups.
Muratory also secured a silver medal in the 100m backstroke in Munich with an exact time of 54.00 seconds. At the senior national level, he holds French titles in the 50m, 100m, and 200m backstroke.
Following the path taken by Léon Marchand, Muratory has committed to move to the United States this autumn to join the University of Michigan. He will train with the university team to prepare for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
