WUHAN, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Fantine Lesaffre of France is used to having a race for herself in the pool at the 7th CISM Military World Games in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province.
The Frenchwoman, who won the European 400m individual medley title in 2018, enjoyed a clear victory in the 200m individual medley competition on Tuesday with 2:12.07, a new record for CISM affiliated events, adding the second gold medal to her 400m individual medley title at the Wuhan Sports Center Natatorium.
Lesaffre lacks a challenge in her native France, which means it is often just the swimmer that makes the waves in the pool.
"I have to push myself. In France I am the only one at this level in the 400m IM," Lesaffre said.
"I am used to this. I have to be fast at every French Championships, so it is a battle with myself. It is what I do in training so I am always alone.
"Sometimes I am with the guys (at training) but it is not the same because they are not in the pool with me when I am racing, so it is just me against me every time, every single day, every training.
"So it is not that hard for me to swim alone like that," she said.
