Friday, August 1, 2008

Laure Manaudou, France, Swimming

With gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, 21-year-old French swimming sensation Laure Manaudou should be near the pinnacle of her career in Beijing. Instead, the fins have come off.

Last December, Manaudou had a public, Olympic-caliber breakup with her boyfriend, Italian swimmer Luca Marin. Later that day, about 20 nude photos and a racy video of Manaudou appeared on the Internet. Marin denied posting them.

Manaudou -- dubbed "the French mermaid" when she became the first French woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming -- reportedly was devastated, and her career went into a tailspin. In April, she burst into tears after suffering her first defeat in a major competition in four years in the 400-meter freestyle at the French championships (she placed third). The next day, she withdrew from the 200-meter freestyle event, in which she currently holds the world record, effectively dropping out of that race in Beijing.

Still, she will be racing in four Olympic events: the 400-meter freestyle, the 100- and 200-meter backstroke, and the 4x100-meter medley.

She may have some kick left. In the past five years, she's won 20 gold medals in the world and European championships.

-- John Ward Anderson