Laure Manaudou

Laure Manaudou is a French Olympic swimmer. She is the daughter of Olga Shippers, a Dutch badminton player, and Jean-Luc Manaudou, a French handball trainer and player. She is also the sister of Florent Manaudou, also a French swimmer. By the age of 14, she was noticed by the swimmer Philippe Lucas, who convinced her parents that she will become a champion. One year later, she won two silver medals at the Junior Swimming Championship in Malta. Then, in 2003, she won five medals in France national championships. In 2004, she became the first French to win the gold medal for the 400-meters freestyle at the Olympic Games in Athens, where she also won the silver medal for the 800-meters freestyle and the bronze medal for the 100-meters backstroke. In 2006, she beat the 40-meters freestyle world record at the European Championship in Budapest. Her status as favorite was confirmed after winning 5 medals at the World Championship in 2007 in Melbourne. In 2009, she ended her swimming career.

She appeared in two movies directed by Olivier Doran and Jean Bodon. In 2020, she participated to the second season of the Masked Singer on the TV channel TF1, in a wolf costume. Then, in 2021, she participated in the show "Celebrity Hunted : Chasse à l'homme" with her brother, on Prime Video.