One last time, Luxembourg's Laurent Carnol has entered the great international stage of swimming, at the World Championships being held this week in Hungary.

At the World Championships in Budapest, the Ettelbrück resident swam the 200 metres breaststroke. In addition to the local champion and Olympic champion of 2012, Daniel Gyurta, the British Ross Murdoch (European champion 2016) and vice-world champion Kevin Cordes from the USA, Laurent once again struggled with the top stars of the scene. With a time of 2:14.87, he celebrated a successful conclusion of his illustrious career.

"I enjoyed the race to the full, it was great fun to swim again against Daniel and Ross in front of this backdrop. I knew that the training kilometers would be missing, on the second hundred it was quite painful," he said. "Now a big pressure falls from my shoulders and a new ‌section in my life begins with new challenges."

Looking back over his career, the 27-year-old won his 200 metres breaststroke semi-final at the European Championship in 2010 and finished his best international position in the final in 2:11.50 minutes.

Throughout his career, Laurent Carnol participated in five long-distance world championships and three Olympic Games and reached an Olympic semi-final in London 2012, the first swimmer in the history of the Luxembourg Swimming Federation to do so. In 2:11.17 he finished 15th, and this year he was named Luxembourg's Sportsman of the Year.

Sprinter Julie Meynen had her first outing at the world championship to start the 5th day of the competition. The 19-year-old swam over 100 metres freestyle in 55.99 and ranked 29th among 78 competitors. At the 50-metre mark, she turned 0.08 seconds below her national record split. On the second length, she could no longer keep up the pressure, as she had been struggling with a painful middle ear inflammation for two days. "In these circumstances, I am satisfied with the times."