Moved to have won bronze on Friday in the 50m freestyle, his fourth Olympic medal in as many finals in his favourite race, Florent Manaudou recounted his strange preparation which allowed him to arrive with the mental freshness necessary to shine in Paris.
Lead an ascetic life? Give up all pleasure to focus only on performance and work? Not for him. To show up in Paris in the best mental and physical shape, and to succeed at 33 in his bet to win a fourth individual Olympic medal in four Games, Florent Manaudou needed to divide his season into several parts.
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No question of being “a monk”
Before starting training and competitions, before imposing a strict diet on himself and putting barbecues aside for a while, there was first a good dose of decompression at the end of 2023, as he confided with a big smile on Friday, after winning bronze in the 50m freestyle behind the Australian Cameron McEvoy and the British Benjamin Proud.
“I know that I can go off in all directions, I make different choices from other athletes. For example, I partied a lot from September to December, which allowed me to perform well tonight. I want to enjoy this life as an athlete and not be a monk. My strong choices have paid off. I thank my professional entourage and all my coaches for following me in this crazy idea,” he confided, moved and very happy to have added a new trinket to his collection after the gold in London (2012), and the silver in Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2021).
In recent years, Manaudou, designated flag bearer of the French delegation for these Olympics on home soil, has also reviewed his habits and methods. “This medal represents the strong choices I have made over the last three years. I decided to leave Marseille and my club to move to Antibes, to be a bit like a tennis player by choosing my staff,” he explained. Without thinking about what comes next. “I just wanted to enjoy this final. I was this athlete who is afraid, whereas here, I was very excited to live the moment. I don’t know what I will do after, I will probably continue to swim a little, but I will be able to stop peacefully.”
