Olympic gold medalist and world champion swimmer Florent Manaudou chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about competing for Energy Standard in the International Swimming League (ISL) Season 3, and he reflected on his experience at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Tokyo Summer Olympic Games
At the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, Manaudou won a silver medal in the men’s 50 meter freestyle race with a time of 21.55 seconds (right behind Caeleb Dressel who set a new Olympic record of 21.07 seconds). “I was super happy and it was kind of a relief because I trained for 2.5 years for this moment,” he said. “It was a close race. We had Caeleb in the front and the rest of us came super tight. It was good to be on the podium with Caeleb and Bruno [Fratus].”
In his respected career in swimming, Manaudou has earned a total of four Olympic medals. Aside from his silver medal that he earned in Tokyo, he won two additional silver medals in 2016 in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (50 meter freestyle and the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay), and a gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the men’s 50 meter freestyle race.
ISL Season 3 with Energy Standard
Manaudou is pumped to be back in the International Swimming League (ISL) Season 3 competing in Naples, Italy, for the Energy Standard swimming team, with James Gibson, MBE, as the General Manager, and Chad Le Clos and Sarah Sjöström as the team’s co-captains. “It is good to be in Naples,” he said. “I feel good at the moment. I love to race and I love to be with my teammates and to support them during the competition.”
“I’ve been working with James [Gibson] since 2011 and he is more than a coach for me,” Manaudou said. “I won my Olympic gold medal with him back in 2012. He is a good General Manager.”
“Chad and Sarah give a lot of energy to all of the swimmers,” he added. “They are both Olympic champions and they are both perfect for this role. I love to be next to them.”
Motivations and love for the sport
Regarding his daily motivations, he said, “First and foremost, having some pleasure in the pool, and being happy in life. I think that is part of the process of swimming fast. Of course, I have some goals. I want to compete in Paris 2024, it is going to be great. I will try to be the best in Paris and I will try to win another medal.”
He is drawn to the sport of swimming for many reasons. “I’m a heavy swimmer so I like to be in the pool because I don’t feel like I am 100 kilos there,” he said. “In the pool, I feel that the water is holding me up, and it is carrying my body more. I feel lighter in the water.”
On his career-defining moments, Manaudou acknowledged that his goal in life was to win the gold medal in all five levels (Olympic Games, World Champions long course and short course as well as European Championships long course and short course), and he accomplished that lofty goal in 2015 in Kazan. “Once I achieved that, my career was complete,” he said and referred to this milestone as achieving the five gold stars.
Advice for hopefuls who wish to go into swimming
For young and aspiring swimmers, he offered the following advice: “Try to find the happiness in the sport. Being happy is the most important thing for me and I know that is not the case for every swimmer. That holds true not only in swimming but in life as well.”
He listed the “breaststroke” as his personal favorite stroke in swimming. “The 50 meter breaststroke race in the short course is one of my favorites,” he admitted. “I started with backstroke when I was a kid, but then I transitioned into the freestyle. I also love the 100 meter medley, but it’s painful.”
Engagement in his personal life
In his personal life, he recently got engaged to Olympic gold medalist swimmer Pernille Blume (who competes for Denmark). “I was excited when I proposed, it is just a part of the process,” he said. “This is our next step and I am happy to be by her side.”
The Frenchman had great words about working with beloved sports photographer Mine Kasapoglu. “Mine is great. She actually took the first pictures of Pernille and me in the pool, so our first couple of pictures are from her,” he said.
Success
Manaudou defined the word success as “achieving your goals” whatever those goals may be. “Success is super personal, but it’s all related to happiness,” he said. “For me, it is all about the happiness that you get when you achieve those goals.”
To learn more about French swimmer Florent Manaudou, follow him on Instagram and on Twitter.
