Florent Manaudou

One hundred seconds can make a massive difference in separating two positions in swimming. Just look at Florent Manaudou’s career and how such seconds can make a huge impact.

Despite coming as an underdog in the 2012 Olympics, the French swimmer won 50m freestyle, whereas four years later, he retired due to that same hundredth of a second.

However, the world 50m backstroke record holder made an incredible comeback in 2019 after playing professional handball in the French second tier for two years.

During his early years, he was trained by his brother. Likewise, Manaudou and his sister became the first siblings to win gold medals in an Olympic swimming event.

Furthermore, he is currently dating a Danish Olympic gold medalist swimmer Pernille Blume looking at his personal life.

Now, let us have a glance at his quick facts before jumping to find out more exciting things about Manaudou and his professional career.

Quick Facts

Name Florent Manaudou
Date of Birth 12 November 1990
Birth Place Villeurbanne, France
Nick Name Unavailable
Age 31 years old
Gender Male
Religion Unknown
Nationality French
Ethnicity White
Horoscope Scorpio
Profession Swimming
Height 6’6″ (1.99 m)
Weight 108 kg (238 lbs)
Wingspan Unknown
Body Mass Index (BMI) 17.5
Build Athletic
Hair Color Black
Eye Color Black
Tattoo Yes
Father Name Jean-Luc Manaudou
Mother Name Olga Schippers
Siblings Laure Manaudou (sister), Nichols Manaudou (brother)
Relationship Dating (2020)
Girlfriend Pernille Blume
Education School De La Plaine De L’ain
Team Energy Standard, CN Marseille
Coach Julien Jacquier
Strokes Freestyle, Butterfly, Backstroke
Career 2007-present
Olympic Records
  • Rio 2016: 50m freestyle (Silver),
  • 4x100m freestyle relay (Silver)
  • London 2012: 50m freestyle (Gold)
World Championship Records
  • 2013 Spain: 4x100m freestyle relay (Gold)
  • 2015 Kazan: 50m freestyle (Gold),
  • 50m butterfly (Gold),
  • 4x100m freestyle relay (Gold)
Personal Best
  • 50m freestyle (LC): 21.19, Kazan (2015)
  • 100m freestyle (LC): 47.98, Zurich (2014)
  • 50m butterfly (LC): 22.84, Kazan (2015)
  • 50m freestyle (SC): 20.26, Doha (2014)
  • 100m freestyle (SC): 45.04, Herning (2014)
  • 50m backstroke (SC): 22.22, Doha (2014)
Salary Unavailable
Net Worth $1.5 million
Hobbies Travel, Motorbike
Social media Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
Swimming Merch Swimming gear, Accessories
Last Update July, 2022

Florent Manaudou: Personal Life and Background

On November 12, 1990, Florent Manaudou was born in Villeurbanne, France. He is the child of Olga Schippers and Jean-Luc Manaudou.

In addition, his mother is Dutch and his father is French. Nicholas and Laure are his sister and brother, respectively. They are both older than he is.

He failed to make his international debut and enlisted in the French Army in 2009. He serves in the Army’s artillery regiment as well.

In addition, he received the Légion d’Honneur Knight of the French National Order for his great swimming performance in 2012.

Individual Life

Manaudou made a social media announcement about his relationship with Pernille Blume in 2019. During his free time, Manaudou frequently wanders the cities with his companion.

Blume is a competitive swimmer as well. She also won the gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle and the bronze in the 4×100-meter relays while competing for Denmark.

She is also a part of Team Energy Standard at the International Swimming League, exactly as her boyfriend. He had several relationships with girls in the past.

Manaudou and French professional tennis player Alize Lim were dating in 2017. Similarly, he fell in love with Ambre Baker, a young model, while in Tahiti. In a similar vein, he had a three-year romance with French professional horse rider Fanny Skalli before to Ambre.

Family Matter

Manaudou is from a family of athletes. His siblings are from a swimming background, while his father was a former professional handball player.

In addition, his brother helped coach him while he was young. He even won the 50m freestyle at the France Junior Swimming Championship in 2007 with Nicholas’ help.

Up to his first World Championship, which was contested in Shanghai in 2011, Nicholas was his trainer. Later, he made the decision to train with his sister under Romain Barnier.

A former competitive swimmer, Laure is his sister. They are also the first siblings to win swimming gold medals at the Olympics.

Laure won gold in the 400m freestyle at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, while Manaudou won gold in the 50m freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

She had previously held world records for the 200- and 1500-meter freestyle events.

Soccer Love

Manaudou played handball as frequently as he did swimming as a child. Later, when he was 13 years old, he solely concentrated on swimming.

But after quitting swimming in 2016, he once more made the decision to pursue his childhood passion for handball.

So, at the age of 25, he signed with Aix en Provence of the French second division and spent two seasons there.

Furthermore, during his final season, he scored 15 goals in 10 games. But in 2019, he made a miraculous return to swimming.

Controversies

Several conservation organizations and members of the public attacked Manaudou in 2015 for publishing pictures on Facebook taken in front of a Lar gibbon in Thailand.

He might not have been familiar with Thai legislation, which has prohibited the use of endangered species for photographs and other uses since 1992.

Florent Manaudou: Physical Description and Exercise
Physical Qualities

Manaudou is a 6 foot 6 inch tall swimmer. He also weighs about 108 kg.

In addition, he is one of the world’s most gorgeous and handsome swimmers. So it’s not surprising that he has been in movies and modeling campaigns.

He is best recognized for his dimples, silky hair, and tongue piercing. Additionally, one of his body’s coolest features is a tattoo.

He has been in a number of French television programs, including Section de Recherches, Munch, and Vestiaires.

He has also done modeling work for numerous well-known companies and publications. Numero Hommes, GQ, Men’s Fitness, and L’EQUIPE are a few of them.

To promote the LGBTQ community, he and Frederick Bousquet also participated in a photo shoot in 2013.

Exercise and Diet

Manaudou has one of the greatest, most muscular bodies that most people only dream of. Thanks to his training and exercise.

His massive frame and strength enable him to sprint with greater force. It shocks me that he doesn’t follow any sort of diet after seeing his physique. Additionally, he enjoys eating whatever he wants that is nutritious without any limitations.

However, he has a specific training routine and adequate sleep time to maintain his body in perfect shape.

In addition to his sprint competitions and practice, he rides his bike around Marseilles Mountain once a week and engages in weight training in the gym three times per week.

World Champion Florent Manaudou Professional Career

Manaudou made his debut on the international stage in China’s 2011 World Aquatics Championship. He competed in the 50m butterfly at the finals finishing fifth in 23.49. However, it was slower than his semis time of 23.32.

He also competed in the 4×100 m medley relay (butterfly leg), but the Franch side failed to qualify for the finals. In the 2012 World, Short Course Championship finished the event with one silver and one bronze.

Later, in 2013 Manaudou finally got his hand on his first world championship medal in Barcelona. In 4×100 m freestyle, he swam in the second leg, finishing with 47.93 to help France win gold.

Likewise, he placed eighth and fifth in 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle. In the 2014 World Short Course Championship in Doha, he won six gold medals, including three golds.

Moreover, he set a world record in 50m freestyle (20.26) and 50m backstrokes (22.22). (22.22). However, his 50m freestyle record has been broken already by Caeleb Dressel.

In Kazan’s 2015 World Aquatics Championship, Manaudou was dominant in short-distance events. Firstly, he won gold in 50m butterfly, consecutive 4x 100m relay, and 50m freestyle.

Olympics

Florent Manaudou’s major breakout in international swimming came after the 2012 London Olympics.

During the France Olympics trials, he managed to qualify for the Olympics, finishing second in 50m freestyle. Later, at the Olympics finals, he won a gold medal in the only event he competed in, 50m freestyle.

Moreover, he is the first French to win gold in 50m freestyle and the 6th gold medalist in individual events. To win his first and only Olympics gold, he finished with a time of 21.30 ahead of Cesar Cielo and Cullen Jones.

Later, in the 2016 Olympics, he competed in 400m freestyle relay and 50m freestyle but failed to qualify for 100m freestyle.

In the 400m freestyle relay, France finished second behind the USA.

More awards & glory

Likewise, in 50m freestyle also took the silver medal. Moreover, he failed to defend his title by 0.01 seconds, losing to Anthony Ervin.

After Rio Olympics, Manaudou announced taking a break from swimming on Facebook to play handball. However, he also mentioned plans to return in the future.

Moreover, before heading to Rio, he had already mentioned his strength to continue swimming depends on results. After returning to swimming, he competed in the French 2021 Olympic trials, winning 50m freestyle with 21.72 seconds.

Now, in Tokyo, he wants to redeem his loss from the previous Olympics by winning gold.

International Swimming League

In the 2019 Sette Colli Trophy, Manaudou made his comeback to swimming winning silver in 50m freestyle.

Later, he signed with Team Energy Standard for the first season of the International Swimming League. Moreover, he co-captained his team alongside Swedish Sarah Sjostrom to win the inaugural season on his return to swimming.

As sprint-free/ back specialist, he had a valuable contribution to the team and was the team’s central potion for every skins race.

Likewise, in the 2020 edition of ISL, his team finished second behind Cali Condors. Likewise, he only validated his qualification for the Tokyo Games in the 50m. However, his team set an ISL record in 3 relay events, and Manaudou was a member in those events.

Florent Manaudou | Earnings and Net Worth\sEarnings

In the 2020 International Swimming League, Florent Manaudou took home $67,025. During the 2019 ISL first edition, he earned $58,700.

Likewise, competing in the 2013 World Aquatic Championship swimming, he earned $15,000 combined from two events. Similarly, in the 2015 world championship edition, he took home $60,000 combined after winning gold in 3 different events.

In addition, Manaudou earned a $30,000 bonus for setting a world record in 50m backstrokes.

Furthermore, the French government awarded him $61,500. Likewise, after winning two silver medals in Rio Olympics, he earned $44,000 combined.

Endorsement

First of all, Florent Manaudou is represented by Britain marketing company Pimento.

During the Puma 2019-20 season, Marseille German company signed him alongside Dimitri Payet as one of its new brand ambassadors.

Puma hosted Talk Sports with World’s fastest man Usain Bolt and other French Puma athletes in the event.

In November 2019, he signed a sponsorship deal with the Italian company Team Arena Elite for Tokyo Olympics.

Since then, Manaudou has been wearing their swimwear and equipment during events and competitions.

Previously, he had tied deals with Australian company Speedo in 2013. They even renewed his contract after he retired and pursued his career in handball.

Likewise, in 2012 he tied a deal with an American company. Since then, he has appeared in his home county in various commercials to promote their products.

Similarly, after agreeing on an endorsement deal with Ice watch in 2013, he has already released limited edition watches collaborating with them.

Furthermore, alongside his sister Laura he has been in various advertising campaigns for DIM Paris.

Recently, in 2021 Manaudou was announced as one of the six french athletes to become Cupra brand ambassador. They were signed considering the 2024 Paris Olympics.

According to various online sources, Manaudou estimated net worth is around $1.5 million.

Florent Manaudou | Social Media Presence

Instagram: 279k Followers

Twitter: 70.9k Followers

Facebook: 235k Followers

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will Florent Manaudou compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics?

On 5 July, France Swimming Federation announced that Manaudou would compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in 50m freestyle.

In Olympic trials, he won 50m freestyle, finishing with 21.72 seconds. In Tokyo, he wants to spend a third successive podium finish.

When did Florent Manaudou retired from swimming?

Manaudou announced his retirement through Facebook after the 2016 Rio Olympics after failing to win a gold medal.

Later, he joined France professional club to pursue his career in handball. However, he returned to swimming in 2019.

How much weight can Florent Manaudou bench press?

Florent has various records of bench press. Currently, he has the bench press record of 165lbs.

What goggles does Florent Manaudou use?

Manaudou mostly uses the Nike Swift Strapless Goggles as they offer good visibility and have the added bonus of not having a nose bridge.
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