Laure Manaudou did not quite match the 4:02.20 that left Katie Hoff just 0.07sec shy of the French Olympic champion's world record over 400m, but in 4:05.61 at the French Cup in Lyon, she sent a strong reminder to rivals that she is aiming for better times and ready to fight.

The time is the 20th best all-time performance on a list that boasts Manaudou's name eight times. More significantly, it is the fastest she has ever swum outside a championship environment.

The swimmer emerged to say that she had wanted to show that, despite being in the midst of heavy training, she had made the right choice by heading to Mulhouse to be guided by coach Lionel Horter for her final run at the defence of her crown in Beijing 2008.

She had thought a 4:08 possible. A 4:05 was most "reassuring", she said. Her new coach said that Manaudou always had something more to give in racing than she had in training. Indeed, racing was "her best training". Manaudou, who also took the 50m backstroke, on 29.29, is swimming with a 30 per cent deficit of pulling power in her right shoulder, said Horter, but the swimmer was working on a correction to her stroke that would help.

The Lyon meet witnessed plenty of other encouraging swims: Alain Bernard clocked 22.28 ahead of Amaury Leveaux, 22.77; the 200m freestyle went to visiting Filippo Magnini (ITA), in 1:50’.13; Markus Rogan (AUT), also visiting from Italy, took the 200m backstroke in 1:59.20 ahead of Gregor Tait (GBR), in 2:0.24; Loris Facci (ITA) claimed the 100m breaststroke in 1:02.02, 0.06 ahead of Oleg Lisogor (UKR).

The 100m freestyle went to Alena Popchanka (54.91), who takes on Manaudou in the 200m today; Popchanka's training partner in Edinburgh, Kirsty Balfour (GBR) was in good form with a 2:27.09 200m breaststroke; Aurore Mongel set a French record of 2:08.13 (up on her own 2:09.21) in the 200m butterfly; Hannah Miley (GBR) beat Olympic champion Yana Klochkova (UKR) in the 200m medley, 2:14.42 to 2:14’.53.