The last time French swimming saw one of its representatives propelled into this position, in the autumn of 1968, President Charles de Gaulle and French viewers were just discovering color television. Silver medallist (100 m backstroke) four years earlier in Tokyo, Christine “Kiki” Caron was resplendent under her turquoise hat as she paraded down the red runway of Mexico City’s Olympic Stadium.
More than half a century later, Florent Manaudou is set to succeed her in leading the French delegation on Friday, July 26, at the Olympic Games opening ceremony scheduled on the Seine, alongside discus thrower Mélina Robert-Michon. Chosen by his peers, the 33-year-old swimmer was officially designated flag-bearer on July 11. “I’ve been lucky enough to achieve all my sporting dreams, so if I’m ever chosen, it would be a way of coming full circle,” he told Le Monde in September 2023.
It all started back in the Athens Olympic swimming pool, in August 2004. Standing in the terraces, a pudgy teenager proudly waved the blue-white-red flag to support his older sister. Laure Manaudou won three medals (gold, silver, bronze) and gave France its first Olympic swimming title since Jean Boiteux in 1952. Laure and Florent (13) vowed to swim together at the 2012 Olympics.
Eight years later, Laure tumbled from the stands and threw herself into the arms of her now “big” brother, barely out of the pool. In London, to everyone’s surprise, the youngest of Ambérieu-en-Bugey’s most famous siblings had just made a name for himself, becoming Olympic champion in the 50 m freestyle. Since then, the racer has added two more medals to his collection, this time silver: in Rio (2016) and then Tokyo (2021).
‘Fitter than ever’
In Paris, Manaudou has set himself a final challenge and will most probably put away his swimsuit afterward. He is determined to reach the podium for the fourth time in a row – the feat has never been achieved in the 50 m. Six days before he takes to the water at the Défense Arena in Nanterre, he will be once again waving the French flag – in an official capacity, this time.
“The advantage is that, as well as being an experienced athlete, he’s a true professional. We know he’ll be able to make the switch from flag-bearer to athlete in no time. We’re not worried,” said Julien Issoulié, national technical director of the French Swimming Federation (FFN), at the French Championships in Chartres in mid-June. “He’s a real leader. He takes [this role] very much to heart,” added Denis Auguin, in charge of the next generation of the French team. “He has a lot of experience and is happy to pass it on to the less experienced.” In Chartres, the future standard-bearer said that he was “fitter than ever.”
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