A league or two shy of competing with the farce of the French football team in South Africa it certainly is but Amaury Leveaux's latest record attempt cannot fail to draw the eye, as the sprinter appears bent on beating Laure Manaudou's standard for getting through coaches in the shortest period of time.

According to L'Equipe, Leveaux, perhaps in search of a hard-slogless miracle (though that theory would surely rule Lucas out), has got through Lionel Horter, Frederick Vergnoux and now, by default as far as national-team duty is concerned, Philippe Lucas in little over a year. Of late, Horter expressed doubts about Leveaux's commitment.

The sprinter's next move, clarified since we posted this piece earlier in the day, is tipped to be coach Maxim Cornillier, who is reported to be braced for the challenge of taking on Leveaux while he is on national team duty, camps and competitions from the Paris Open at the weekend. Lucas is coach to Romania, his key charge Camelia Potec, and is therefore not available for France duty. Both Horter and Vergnoux, who have coached Leveaux, are available on national camps and competitions but a return to them is not an option, it seems. The move to Cornillier will place Leveaux, Olympic silver and world-championship silver medallist over 50m free, alongside Fred Bousquet in training with the Marseilles group on national team duty.

Bousquet and Manaudou celebrated the birth of their daughter Manon this year. This week, Leveaux, world short-course record holder on sprint free, faces a meeting with the French federation and possible disciplinary action over missed training sessions when he and other sprinters, including Bousquet, skipped national-training camp to wet the baby's head.

Manaudou, history recalls, retired from the sport after a high-profile journey from Lucas to three other coaches between the truly fabulous heights of Melbourne 2007 (after becoming Olympic champion in 2004, world champion in 2005 and getting past Janet Evans on the clock over 400m in 2006) and the fade to finish in Beijing 2008.