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Who is Florent Manaudou?
Consider Florent Manaudou’s career and how mere seconds can have a significant impact. Despite being an underdog in the 2012 Olympics, the French swimmer won the 50m freestyle, only to retire four years later due to that same hundredth of a second.
However, following two years of professional handball in France’s second division, the world 50m backstroke record holder made an astonishing comeback in 2019.
His brother trained him in his formative years.
Manaudou and his sister also made history by being the first siblings to win gold medals in an Olympic swimming event.
In his personal life, he is now seeing Pernille Blume, a Danish Olympic gold medalist swimmer.
Florent Manaudou’s History and Personal Life
Florent Manaudou was born in Villeurbanne, France on November 12, 1990.
His parents are Jean-Luc Manaudou and Olga Schippers.
In addition, his father is French and his mother is Dutch.
He has two younger siblings, Nicholas and Laure. They are both older than he is.
After failing to make his international debut, he joined the French Army in 2009.
Similarly, he is a member of the Army’s artillery regiment.
In addition, he was given the Knight of the French National Order of the Légion d’Honneur for his great swimming performance in 2012.
Private Life
Manaudou confirmed his romance with Pernille Blume on social media in 2019.
During his free time, Manaudou is frequently spotted with his companion wandering around towns.
Blume is also a competitive swimmer. She also won gold in the 50m freestyle and bronze in the 4x100m relays for Denmark.
Furthermore, she, like her boyfriend, is a member of Team Energy Standard at the International Swimming League.
He has previously been in relationships with other women.
Manaudou was in a relationship with Alize Lim, a French professional tennis player, in 2017.
Similarly, while in Tahiti, he fell in love with a young model named Ambre Baker.
Similarly, before Ambre, he was in a three-year relationship with Fanny Skalli, a French professional horse rider.
Affairs in the Family
Manaudou hails from a family of athletes.
His father was a former professional handball player, and his siblings all grew up swimming.
Furthermore, his brother trained him in his early years.
Under Nicholas’ tutelage, he even won the 50m freestyle at the France Junior Swimming Championships in 2007.
Nicholas worked with him until 2011 when he competed in his first World Championship in Shanghai.
Later, he decided to train with his sister under Romain Barnier.
Laure, his sister, is a retired professional swimmer.
Furthermore, they are the first siblings to win gold medals in swimming at the Olympics.
Laure won gold in the 400m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics, while Manaudou won gold in the 50m freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics.
She previously held world records in the freestyle 200m and 1500m.
Handball Addiction
Manaudou enjoyed handball as much as he did swimming as a child.
When he was 13, he dedicated himself fully to swimming.
However, after retiring from swimming in 2016, he returned to his childhood love and passion for handball.
So, at the age of 25, he joined the French second division club Aix en Provence, where he spent two seasons.
Furthermore, he scored 15 goals in 10 games last season. In 2019, he made a stunning comeback to swimming.
Controversies
Manaudou was chastised by many wildlife organizations and the general public in 2015 after uploading images on Facebook in front of a Lar gibbon in Thailand.
He may not have been familiar with Thai law, which has restricted the use of endangered species for photographs and other purposes since 1992.
Florent Manaudou | Training and Physical Appearance
Physical Attributes
Manaudou is a 6-foot-6-inch tall swimmer.
Similarly, he weighs roughly 108kg.
He is also one of the most gorgeous and appealing swimmers in the world.
So it’s no wonder that he’s appeared in modeling and movies.
He’s most famous for his dimples, silky smooth hair, and tongue piercing.
Furthermore, one of the coolest features of his body is a tattoo.
He has appeared in several French television dramas and series, including Section de Recherches, Munch, and Vestiaires.
Similarly, he has modeled for a number of well-known companies and periodicals.
Numero Hommes, GQ, Men’s Fitness, and L’EQUIPE are among them.
In addition, he and Frederick Bousquet posed for the project to support the LGBTQ community in 2013.
Diet and Exercise
Manaudou has one of the best-built physiques that many people aspire to.
Because of his workout and training.
His massive muscles and body allow him to generate more force in sprints.
Looking at his body, it’s surprising that he doesn’t diet.
Furthermore, he enjoys eating anything that has nourishment without restriction.
He does, however, follow a strict exercise regimen and get enough sleep to keep his body in top shape.
In addition to sprint events and practice, he goes to the gym three times a week for weight training and rides his bike around Marseilles Mountain once a week.
Florent Manaudou | Professional Development
Championship of the World
Manaudou made his international debut at China’s 2011 World Aquatics Championship.
He finished fifth in the finals in the 50m butterfly in 23.49 seconds.
It was, however, slower than his semis time of 23.32.
He also swam in the 4100 m medley relay (butterfly leg), but his Franch team did not make the finals.
The 2012 World Short Course Championship was completed with one silver and one bronze medal.
Later, in 2013, Manaudou won his first world championship medal in Barcelona.
He swam in the second leg of the 4100 m freestyle, finishing with a time of 47.93 to assist France to win gold.
Similarly, he finished eighth and sixth in the 50m butterfly and freestyle, respectively.
He won six gold medals, including three golds, in the 2014 World Short Course Championship in Doha.
He also established world records in the 50m freestyle (20.26) and 50m backstrokes (22.22).
However, Caeleb Dressel has already broken his 50m freestyle record.
Manaudou dominated the short-distance events at the 2015 World Aquatics Championship in Kazan.
First, he won gold in the 50m butterfly, 4x100m relay, and 50m freestyle.
Olympics
Florent Manaudou had a significant breakthrough in international swimming following the 2012 London Olympics.
He qualified for the Olympics after coming second in the 50m freestyle at the France Olympics trials.
Later, at the Olympics, he won a gold medal in his only event, the 50m freestyle.
He is also the first Frenchman to win gold in the 50m freestyle and the sixth gold medallist in solo events.
He won his first and only Olympic gold medal with a time of 21.30 seconds, beating off Cesar Cielo and Cullen Jones.
Later in 2016, he raced in the 400m freestyle relay and 50m freestyle but did not qualify for the 100m freestyle.
France finished second to the United States in the 400m freestyle relay.
More honors and glory
Similarly, she won silver in the 50m freestyle.
Furthermore, he lost his championship defense by 0.01 seconds to Anthony Ervin.
Following the Rio Olympics, Manaudou stated on Facebook that she would be taking a vacation from swimming to playing handball.
He did, however, announce hopes to return in the future.
Furthermore, before leaving for Rio, he stated that his motivation to continue swimming is dependent on the outcome.
He returned to swimming and won the 50m freestyle in 21.72 seconds at the French 2021 Olympic trials.
Now, in Tokyo, he hopes to make one for his failure at the last Olympics by capturing gold.
International Swimming Federation
Manaudou made his swimming comeback in 2019, capturing silver in the 50m freestyle at the Sette Colli Trophy.
He later joined Team Energy Standard for the inaugural season of the International Swimming League.
Furthermore, on his return to swimming, he co-captained his team with Swedish Sarah Sjostrom to win the first season.
He made a vital contribution to the team as a sprint-free/back expert and was the team’s central potion for every skins race.
Similarly, in the 2020 ISL season, his squad finished second to Cali Condors.
Similarly, he only confirmed his qualification for the Tokyo Olympics in the 50m.
However, his team set an ISL record in three relay races in which Manaudou participated.
Salary and Net Worth
Earnings
Florent Manaudou earned $67,025 in the 2020 International Swimming League.
He earned $58,700 in the inaugural 2019 ISL season.
Similarly, while competing in the 2013 World Aquatic Championships, he earned $15,000 from two events.
Similarly, in the 2015 global championships, he earned $60,000 after winning gold in three different events.
Manaudou also received a $30,000 prize for breaking the world record in the 50m backstrokes.
In addition, the French government granted him $61,500.
Similarly, after earning two silver medals in the Rio Olympics, he earned a total of $44,000.
Endorsement
To begin with, Florent Manaudou is represented by the British marketing firm Pimento.
Puma Marseille German firm signed him as one of its new brand ambassadors during the 2019-20 season, alongside Dimitri Payet.
Puma presented Talk Sports, which featured the World’s Fastest Man Usain Bolt, and other French Puma athletes.
He inked a sponsorship arrangement with the Italian company Team Arena Elite for the Tokyo Olympics in November 2019.
Manaudou has been sporting their swimsuits and equipment at events and competitions since then.
He previously signed ties with the Australian firm Speedo in 2013.
They even extended his contract after he retired to pursue his handball career.
Similarly, in 2012, he signed an agreement with an American company.
Since then, he has appeared in several advertisements in his home country to promote their products.
Similarly, after signing an endorsement arrangement with Ice Watch in 2013, he has already collaborated on limited edition timepieces.
Furthermore, he has been in several DIM Paris advertising ads alongside his sister Laura.
Manaudou was recently named as one of six French athletes to become Cupra brand ambassadors in 2021.
They were signed in anticipation of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Manaudou’s net worth is estimated to be around $1.5 million, according to several web sources.
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Online Presence
279k Followers on Instagram
70.9k Followers on Twitter
235k Likes on Facebook
