Alain Bernard

Alain Bernard first came to prominence at the 2008 European Championships in Eindhoven. Not only did the Frenchman win three gold medals (50 and 100 metres, 4x100 relay - all freestyle), he also bettered the world record in both individual events, even twice for the blue riband event, the 100 metres. This performance bombarded him to one of the big favorites for the Olympic gold in the freestyle sprint events. At first, Bernard disappointed, anchoring the French team in the 4x100 free relay final but losing the lead to Jason Lezak in the final centimetres. Moreover, Eamon Sullivan (47.21) had taken Bernard's world record in the opening leg of that race. Bernard grabbed it back (47.20) in the semi-finals of the individual 100 free, only to lose it again to Sullivan (47.05) in the second semi-final. The final was a close showdown between the Australian and the Frenchman, with Bernard winning. Adding a bronze medal in the 50 freestyle, Bernard left Beijing with a full set of Olympic medals. In the following years, Bernard has continued to perform well, having so far only eluded a gold medal at the Long-Course Worlds, where he has won two silvers and three bronzes thusfar. In 2010, he retained his European 100 freestyle title, and won the relay gold at the short course championships in Dubai. In early 2009, Bernard became the first 100 metre swimmer to beat 47 seconds (46.94), but his record was disallowed, as his swimsuit was not deemed eligible by the world swimming federation FINA (swimsuits of artificial material were banned altogether at the end of 2009).