Laure Manaudou is a retired French swimmer renowned for her dominance in freestyle and backstroke events during the mid-2000s.
Born on October 9, 1986, in Villeurbanne, France, she rose to international prominence as a teenager, becoming one of the most celebrated athletes in French swimming history.
Growing up in a family steeped in sports—her father, Jean-Luc Manaudou, was a handball coach, and her mother, Olga Schipper, a former Dutch badminton player—Manaudou began swimming at age four and joined a local club at six.
By 14, she caught the eye of coach Philippe Lucas, who relocated her to Melun for intensive training, setting the stage for her extraordinary career.
Manaudou’s achievements not only elevated women’s swimming in France but also inspired a generation, including her own family members, to pursue excellence in the pool.
Siblings
Laure’s eldest brother, Nicolas Manaudou, born on October 8, 1985—just one day before Laure—pursued swimming early on and later transitioned into coaching.
Nicolas played a significant role in Laure’s career, serving as her coach during key periods, including after her return from Italy in 2007, and he also guided their younger brother Florent.
The most famous sibling, Florent Manaudou, born on November 12, 1990, followed in Laure’s footsteps as a professional swimmer, achieving his own Olympic glory by winning gold in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2012 London Games.
This made the Manaudous the first brother-sister duo to both claim Olympic gold in swimming history.
Florent, who competed for clubs like CN Marseille and CN Antibes, shared a special bond with Laure, evident in her ecstatic celebration of his victory at London 2012, where she leaped over barriers to embrace him poolside.
The youngest brother, David Manaudou, born in 1997, has maintained a lower profile but remains part of the family’s supportive dynamic, occasionally joining in public family moments like birthday tributes.
Career
Manaudou burst onto the scene at the 2004 European Championships in Madrid, securing three gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke, 400-meter freestyle, and 4×100-meter medley relay, signaling her potential as a freestyle powerhouse.
That same year, at just 17, she claimed Olympic gold in the 400-meter freestyle at Athens 2004—France’s first in women’s swimming in over five decades—along with silver in the 800-meter freestyle and bronze in the 100-meter backstroke.
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Under coach Philippe Lucas, Manaudou’s rigorous training paid off with world records in the 400-meter freestyle, first broken in 2006 at the French Championships and improved at the European Championships in Budapest, where she also won gold in the 800-meter freestyle, 200-meter individual medley, and 100-meter backstroke.
Her peak continued at the 2005 World Championships in Montreal, where she defended her 400-meter freestyle title, and in 2007 in Melbourne, she added gold in the 200-meter freestyle while earning silvers in the 100-meter backstroke and 800-meter freestyle, plus a bronze in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay—earning her the FINA World Swimmer of the Year award.
However, personal upheavals, including a high-profile breakup and coaching changes, led to a disappointing fourth-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle at Beijing 2008.
Retiring at 22 in 2009, Manaudou paused to start a family but staged a comeback in 2011, training at Auburn University and qualifying for London 2012 in backstroke events.
Post-retirement, she has embraced roles in swimrun promotion and youth inspiration, her career tallying over 100 medals across major competitions and cementing her as a trailblazer for French aquatics.
Accolades
At the Olympics, Manaudou’s Athens 2004 haul—one gold, one silver, one bronze—made her the second Frenchwoman to win three medals in a single Games, tying her with legends like Marie-José Pérec.
She competed in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, adding to her legacy despite no further medals.
On the world stage, she secured three golds across 2005 and 2007 Championships, contributing to six total medals, including standout victories in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle.
European dominance was even more pronounced: nine long-course golds from 2004 to 2008, 13 medals overall, plus nine short-course titles and 15 medals, highlighted by her 2006 Budapest sweep.
Nationally, she amassed 62 French titles and 86 medals, shattering numerous records.
Manaudou’s freestyle prowess produced world records in the 400-meter (held from 2006 to 2007) and contributions to the 200-meter, alongside European marks in the 800-meter.
Off the pool, she was named FINA World Swimmer of the Year in 2007—the only French swimmer to earn the honor—and inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2017.
Her achievements, including France’s first women’s Olympic swimming gold since 1952, rank her third on the all-time list of French female multi-medal Olympic winners with three medals.
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