Laure Manaudou

One of the prominent female swimmers of the first decade of the 21st century, Laure Manaudou excelled in the long distance freestyle events, as well as the backstroke. Her first major international event were the 2004 European Championships, during which she claimed three golds (400 freestyle, 100 backstroke, medley relay). At the Athens Olympics later that year, Manaudou became the first Frenchwoman to win an Olympic swimming title, claiming the 400 freestyle gold. She added a silver in the 800 free, and a bronze in the 100 back. In the next few years, she collected a large batch of medals, including three golds at the World Championships (as well as two silvers and a bronze), an additional six European titles and eight European short course titles. In 2007, she was proclaimed World Swimmer of the Year. Manaudou also beat world records in the long distance freestyle event, although she has since lost all her records. In 2007, Manaudou was featured prominently in the press, first leaving her coach, then breaking up with her Italian swimmer boyfriend Luca Marin, which was followed by nude pictures of Manaudou emerging on the Internet. The 2008 Olympics turned out to be a deception for Manaudou. While she reached two Olympic finals, she failed to medal in either of those, and this would be her last major competition until she officially announced her retirement in 2009. After giving birth to a daughter (her boyfriend being fellow swimmer [Frédérick Bousquet]), Manaudou is attempting a comeback, and is aiming to swim at the London Olympics in 2012.