The twins Charlotte and Laura Tremble were named on October 25 the official pair that will represent France at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo for the duet event, provided that they qualify, which should realistically not be an issue. They were in competition against the duet of Maureen Jenkins and Eve Planeix.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” said Charlotte via text to Inside Synchro. “After everything we did to reach our dream… It’s crazy! I’m so happy and proud!”

The Tremble sisters, Jenkins and Planeix competed against each other in four world series competitions throughout the 2018 season. The national team staff was hoping one duet would move significantly ahead of the other, but the two were neck and neck all year.

At the European Championships in Glasgow last summer, the Tremble sisters ended up swimming their technical duet while Jenkins and Planeix swam in the free event. Both registered career-high scores at that meet.

In order to decide and move forward with only one duet this upcoming season, the national team staff, helped by French international judges, held closed trials at the INSEP training center near Paris. Both duets swam only the technical routines.

“We are so happy,” said Laura. “We want to celebrate with our friends and family. Everybody was so stressed out (laughs)! The waiting was hard, we just wanted to start the trial to know the final result. This is such a huge weight lifted off our shoulders.”

The Tremble sisters had already represented France at the 2017 FINA World Championships in the technical duet event, where they finished 11th. They will now gear up for the 2019 season with the FINA World Championships in South Korea in sight.

Jenkins posted about the decision on her Instagram account, expressing her sorrow of not being selected, but stating she remains motivated to help the team qualify a spot to Tokyo.

Article by Christina Marmet.

Cover photo: FFN/P.PONGENTY