Laure Manaudou (born 9 October 1986 in Villeurbanne, Rhone) was a French Olympic, world and European champion swimmer. She is the daughter of a French father and a Dutch mother.
Manaudou currently holds the world records for the 400 meter freestyle (short course), but she has lost her "long course" record, which is set in 50 meter pools. She won the gold medal in the women's 400 meter freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics. It was France's first gold medal ever in women's swimming and the first swimming gold medal won by a French athlete since Jean Boiteux's victory in the 400 meter men's freestyle event at Helsinki in 1952.
Laure Manadou has won three gold medals at the 2004 European Swimming Championships in Madrid, Spain, for the 100 metre backstroke, 400 metre freestyle, and the 4×100 metre team medley races.
From 2001-2007, Manaudou was coached by Philippe Lucas. She competed for the Melun-Dammarie club until 2006, when she moved to Canet-en-Roussillon.
Manaudou won four medals in the European Championships of 2007, despite reported conflicts between her and Luca Marin, her Italian ex-boyfriend.
On 17 September 2009, at 22 years of age, Manaudou announced through the newspaper Le Parisien her retirement from competitive swimming. She was quoted as saying, "It came to me little by little. I didn’t make it on impulse. It has matured slowly.”
