
Florent Manaudou and Charlotte Bonnet are racing in their fourth Olympics this week in Paris as they look to lead a French team that the Paris public has been very excited to cheer on.
When one enters the La Defense Arena on the north side of Paris, the first thing to notice was the size of the venue. When the first heat walked out for the women’s 100m butterfly on Saturday morning to kick off the swimming program, the sound was reminiscent of that of a final.
Fière de mon co’capitaine et porte drapeau ☺️🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/bVJ15Ux8dV
— Charlotte Bonnet (@BonnetCha) July 26, 2024
The French people and those that traveled here for the Paris Olympics have made their presence known. Many of the conversations around the deck have been about the noise - a near full capacity crowd for a heats session. Hardly an empty seat was seen in the venue that is slated to seat over 14,000 people.
When Olympic gold medalists walked out behind the blocks, a loud ovation was heard for the likes of Adam Peaty and Katie Ledecky.
When French athletes walked out, it was nearly deafening.
“It was incredible,” David Aubry said after his 400m freestyle heat. “When 15,000 people are crying your name, it’s amazing.” Aubry finished 15th overall in the 400m freestyle but is a medal favorite for the 1500m later.
The French swimmers had a solid morning session - Marie Wattel advanced to the 100m butterfly semi-finals in tenth, while the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team qualified fifth for the final. For the women’s freestyle relay, it was the first time the team advanced past the heats at a Worlds or Olympics in that relay since 2016.
“It was amazing for only the heats,” Charlotte Bonnet said. “Maybe in the final tonight it’s going to be great. It’s the first time for us in France so it’s really crazy.” Bonnet anchored the 4x100m freestyle relay in 53.55 as the team got within six tenths of the national record set in 2018.
Bonnet was named team captain before the Games began, as was fellow four-time Olympian Florent Manaudou. Both Bonnet and Manaudou raced at the London Olympics in 2012, where Manaudou won gold in the 50m freestyle and Bonnet won bronze in the 4x200m freestyle at age 17.
Bonnet has insisted she is competing in her last Olympics after over a decade on the national team. Although the end of her career is looming, she is trying not to think of the last of things and is living in the moment.
As a team captain, she is keeping an eye on the Olympic rookies and providing any guidance they may need during these Games.
“Our goal is to make the young swimmers know we are here if they need anything - not that we expect them to come see us,” Bonnet said, when translated, at a pre-Olympic training camp in Vichy. “We are open and here for the good vibes.”
“I remember my first Games,” Bonnet said. “I felt a little out of place because I was there for a relay, and I felt like my part didn’t really matter and then (Coach) Fabrice (Pellerin) set me straight. He told me to stop looking at what is happening, and I responded that the first time you get there, everything is so grand, and it is overwhelming.”
Bonnet’s only individual event this week is the 200m IM, which won’t kick off until Friday. Physically and mentally, she is in a good place as her career comes to a close. This year, she’s ranked 13th in the world in the 200m IM amongst those qualified for Paris, and a finals spot is certainly up for grabs if she can put together the right race.
For Manaudou, he has become one of the faces of the Games. In Friday’s Opening Ceremony, Manaudou was the flag bearer for the host French team and swore in the Olympic Oath alongside discus thrower Mélina Robert-Michon.
“It’s lots of excitement and responsibility,” Manaudou, when translated, said at the training camp when announced as flag bearer. “People have been talking about the French Olympics since 2017. It’s beautiful to be a flag bearer for this delegation of more than 560 athletes.”
Manaudou does not race until Thursday in the heats of the 50m freestyle as the French men’s 4x100m freestyle relay finished 12th on Saturday morning and will not race in the final. Manaudou is the oldest male swimmer competing in Paris at age 33, as he is ranked sixth in the world this year in the 50m freestyle.
Since winning gold in London 2012, Manaudou hasn’t missed a 50m freestyle Olympic podium, winning silver in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. A medal this year might be hard to come by, but he is taking pride in swimming in his fourth Olympics in his home nation.
“We are excited to swim and see the public support,” Manaudou told reporters at the training camp in Vichy.
“I think it’s a big privilege. There’s a big home advantage and that’s a big thing.”
Manaudou hopes that these Olympics will help build something for the future of French Swimming, as he cited Great Britain’s massive rise to dominance after hosting the 2012 Olympics. After winning just three medals at a home London Olympics, the British team won eight medals in Tokyo nine years later, including four golds.
With the Games in Paris, the French public citizens will be expecting a lot out of the French swimmers, hoping to cheer and shout for their home nation in front of a worldwide audience. But Manaudou doesn’t see this as a distraction or as pressure.
“I like having this public enthusiasm and it pushes the performances and pushes the team,” Manaudou, when translated, said during the training camp.
The medal favorites for France will swim later in the week, beginning with Leon Marchand in Sunday’s 400m IM and Maxime Grousset in Tuesday’s 100m freestyle, but the French team has already swum well just one session into the competition.
Manaudou and Bonnet noted the cohesion of the French team is stronger this year, thanks to the leadership that prioritized team bonding, using events such as team barbecues and ping pong matches for the athletes to get to know each other.
“The people who are a little shier and more introverted tend to open up on these trips,” Manaudou, when translated, said. “It’s not necessarily just through the captains - we all live very well together.”
The team, led by National Team Director Jacco Verhaeren, who previously guided Swimming Australia between 2013 and 2020, is the strongest it has been since 2012, when Manaudou and Bonnet were Olympic rookies, and that could lead to success in Paris in 2024.
“I am now going to savor these last few moments with the team,” Bonnet said. “The training camp is almost too short, when we were in Japan we had three weeks together, but I feel this one is going to go by very quickly.”