Laure Manaudou

Laure Manaudou

Manaudou in 2005
Personal information
National team	France
Born	(1986-10-09) 9 October 1986 (age 30) Villeurbanne, France
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	64 kg (141 lb; 10.1 st)
Website	LaureManaudou.fr
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle, backstroke
Medal record Women's swimming Representing France Olympic Games 2004 Athens 400 m freestyle 2004 Athens 800 m freestyle 2004 Athens 100 m backstroke World Championships (LC) 2005 Montreal 400 m freestyle 2007 Melbourne 200 m freestyle 2007 Melbourne 400 m freestyle 2007 Melbourne 800 m freestyle 2007 Melbourne 100 m backstroke 2007 Melbourne 4×200 m freestyle European Championships (LC) 2004 Madrid 400 m freestyle 2004 Madrid 100 m backstroke 2004 Madrid 4×100 m medley 2006 Budapest 400 m freestyle 2006 Budapest 800 m freestyle 2006 Budapest 100 m backstroke 2006 Budapest 200 m medley 2008 Eindhoven 200 m backstroke 2008 Eindhoven 4×200 m freestyle 2008 Eindhoven 100 m backstroke 2006 Budapest 200 m freestyle 2006 Budapest 4×200 m freestyle 2006 Budapest 4×100 m medley European Championships (SC) 2005 Trieste 400 m freestyle 2005 Trieste 800 m freestyle 2005 Trieste 100 m backstroke 2006 Helsinki 400 m freestyle 2006 Helsinki 800 m freestyle 2006 Helsinki 100 m backstroke 2007 Debrecen 400 m freestyle 2007 Debrecen 100 m backstroke 2012 Chartres 50 m backstroke 2007 Debrecen 200 m freestyle 2012 Chartres 100 m backstroke 2003 Dublin 100 m backstroke 2007 Debrecen 4×50 m medley 2008 Rijeka 100 m backstroke 2012 Chartres 4×50 m medley Mediterranean Games 2005 Almería 400 m freestyle 2005 Almería 50 m backstroke

Laure Manaudou (French pronunciation: ​[lɔʁ manodu]; born 9 October 1986) is a retiredFrench Olympic, world and European champion swimmer. She has held the world record in freestyle events between 200 and 1500 meter. She is the daughter of a French father and a Dutch mother, and she is the older sister of Florent Manaudou who is also an Olympic gold medalist swimmer.

She won the gold medal in the women's 400-meter freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics. It was France's first gold medal ever in women's swimming and the first swimming gold medal won by a French athlete since Jean Boiteux's victory in the 400-meter men's freestyle event at Helsinki in 1952. Manaudou won the silver medal in the women's 800-meter freestyle at the Athens Olympics. In that race, she had a quick start but was passed down the stretch by Ai Shibata of Japan. She also won the bronze medal in the women's 100-meter backstroke, thus becoming only the second Frenchwoman to win three medals in a single Olympic Games, Summer or Winter. The first one was the track and field athlete Micheline Ostermeyer in London in 1948. Manaudou was by far the best swimmer on the French team, but she did not have the team support to win a medal in the women's 4×200 m freestyle relay.

Manaudou is currently tied for third (three medals altogether) on the all-time list of French multiple female Winter or Summer Olympic medal winners along with Micheline Ostermeyer, Marielle Goitschel, Pascale Trinquet-Hachin, Perrine Pelen, Anne Briand-Bouthiaux, Marie-José Pérec, Félicia Ballanger and Camille Muffat. The all-time leader is the fencer Laura Flessel-Colovic, who has five Olympic medals.