Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Mewen Tomac Among French Backstrokers Newly Committed To Mare Nostrum

By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam

The French squad attending the 2025 Mare Nostrum tour has grown as a handful of the nation’s best backstrokers have committed to attending at least one of the three stops on this year’s tour. The Mare Nostrum tour has added Paris Olympic finalists Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Mewen Tomac to Canet entry lists. On the women’s side, sprint backstrokers Analia Pigree and Pauline Mahieu are entered in the Barcelona and Canet stop.

Ndoye-Brouard and Tomac’s arrival will be a jolt in the men’s backstroke events at the third and final stop of this year’s tour. The pair should surge to the front of the field, especially as Poland’s sprint backstroke star Ksawery Masiuk is currently only entered in the Monaco and Barcelona stops of the tour.

Both Ndoye-Brouard and Tomac last competed stateside; Ndoye-Brouard swam at the Sacramento Pro Series with a loaded INSEP contingent, sweeping the men’s backstroke events. He ranks 21st in this season’s global rankings in the 100 back (53.81) and 23rd in the 50 backstroke (24.96) from his swims at the February CMCM Euro Meet in Luxembourg. Tomac last raced for the Golden Bears in yards at the 2025 NCAA Men’s Championships.

Both Pigree and Mahieu last raced in March at a French club meet. Pigree, the 50 backstroke bronze medalist at the 2022 World Championships, won the 50 freestyle (25.24) and 50 backstroke (28.14). Mahieu was second to Pigree in the 50 backstroke (28.18) and the two swapped placed in the 100 backstroke final, with Mahieu winning in 1:00.11. Mahieu also finished second in the 200 backstroke (1:01.07).

While the men’s backstroke field in Canet may not be that deep, Pigree and Mahieu will face Ingrid Wilm and Louise Hansson, along with countrymate Beryl Gastaldello during their two stops of the Mare Nostrum Tour.

Updated Commitments

Below is a list of the athletes the Mare Nostrum Swim Tour has announced will be participating in at least one stop. Not all the athletes have publicly committed to a certain number of stops, but those who have are marked with a • for each stop the Tour has announced they will attend. Entries are not yet finalized. 

Note: Neutral Athletes ‘A’ are competitors from Belarus, and Neutral Athletes ‘B’ are from Russia. They are required to compete as neutrals due to their nations’ suspensions, resulting from the ongoing war in Ukraine as well as Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian sporting organizations.