STORY – The greatest French swimmer is revealed in a book where he reveals to have been the victim of harassment in college.
On August 14, 2008, a colossus emerges from the Beijing Olympic basin. Leaning on the water line, Alain Bernard exults by deploying his endless meter ninety-six and his breathtaking muscles. The image is strong. At 25, the Aubagnais climbed on the roof of the world and entered the legend of French sport by becoming the first Tricolor to win Olympic gold over the queen distance, the 100 meters.
Thirteen years later, the former swimmer is told in an autobiography (Alain Bernard. My Olympic destiny, Talent Éditions) to be published next Wednesday. A story full of anecdotes during which the discreet champion goes back in depth on the stages of his career (two Olympic titles and eight European coronations), reveals the backstage of a brilliant French team but undermined by rivalries and jealousies.
A “lonely” teenager
He speaks directly to the question of doping (“A temptation that crossed my mind”) and accepts, the secret man, to lift the veil on his sentimental life,
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