French swimmer Florent Manaudou announced the end of his athletic career at age 35, confirming that his final competitive chapter will close during a special ceremony in Saint-Denis. According to reports from France Télévisions and regional coverage, the six-time Olympic medalist made the announcement public during a broadcast appearance, setting his formal retirement ceremony for Saturday at 18:00 local time at the Olympic swimming pool in Saint-Denis during the European Swimming Championships.
A Storied Career Defined by Sprint Dominance
Manaudou leaves the sport as a sprinter in international swimming. His achievement arrived at the 2012 London Olympic Games, where he captured a gold medal in the men’s 50-meter freestyle. He followed that performance by securing silver medals in the same event at the 2016 Rio Olympics and in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics.
Beyond his individual Olympic success, Manaudou added two more bronze medals to his career tally at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, finishing third in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter medley relay. Across his career, he accumulated three world titles in 2015—winning the 50-meter freestyle, 50-meter butterfly, and 4×100-meter—alongside four European titles secured in 2014 (50 m, 100 m, 50 m butterfly and 4×100 m), according to midilibre.fr.
Stepping Away After Paris 2024
The French sprinter had kept fans and analysts guessing about his future since the conclusion of the Paris Games in the summer of 2024. Having last competed at an event in Saint-Dizier in October 2024, Manaudou spent the current European Swimming Championships serving in an honorary role as “parrain” rather than competing in the pool.
This retirement follows a pattern of breaks for the athlete, who previously stepped away from competitive swimming between 2016 and 2019. During that hiatus, Manaudou tried handball with the club d’Aix-en-Provence and worked as a sports commentator for France Télévisions. He also participated in the show Danse avec les stars on TF1 in 2025.
Tributes from Teammates and Swimming Royalty
As the youngest of the Manaudou siblings—following the paths of his brother Nicolas and his sister Laure Manaudou, who was the first French woman to be Olympic champion in Athens in 2004—Florent leaves a lasting impression on his peers. Former teammate Maxime Grousset paid tribute to the retiring champion, noting his leadership inside the French national squad.
“I will remember an image of a mentor. We swam a lot of races together,” Grousset said, according to sports reporting from CNews. “I started winning against him, and it is thanks to him that I went so high. Thank you to him for everything he brought. He was always there for the EDF. He is a great man. We will only remember the good things about him in swimming.”
The Final Farewell in Saint-Denis
Organizers have scheduled a formal jubilee event to honor Manaudou’s more than ten years at the highest level of international swimming. The tribute will take place on Saturday at 18:00 local time at the pool in Saint-Denis, providing fans, athletes, and officials a final opportunity to salute one of France’s decorated Olympians.
