There can be no denying the regression now. Race after race, indoors and out, he has performed well below a year ago. 20.48 with virtually no wind. Ouch. It's getting painful to read his results.
I don't know how anyone could possibly have lost so much speed at such a young age, but this is bad. Based on what he's proven in previous years, he's scheduled to run against sprinters who will simply embarrass him. Sure, this 200 result is not as dreadful as the 100 from last week, but it's still not the sort of speed that would get him into an Olympic semi-final, much less final, much, much less medal stand.
As things stand, we are either about to find out that every race this year has been a fluke and that Christophe has some strength-sapping illness, or he's about to be totally humiliated in three weeks, finishing a distant last, half a straightaway behind the world class sprinters he currently doesn't belong with.
What the heck happened? I give up guessing at this point. I mean, the poor weight training might explain lack of progression but it shouldn't make him slower. He should AT LEAST be as fast as he was last year. My only hunch is that perhaps Carraz's misguided attempt to improve his turnover rate has messed him up badly.
Meanwhile, I checked a lot of the French papers online, and they are all very negative now. The LeMaitre Effect could turn into a nightmare if they don't turn this around in 3 weeks.