The Most Famous

SWIMMERS from France

This page contains a list of the greatest French Swimmers. The pantheon dataset contains 709 Swimmers, 14 of which were born in France. This makes France the birth place of the 12th most number of Swimmers behind Italy, and Sweden.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary French Swimmers of all time. This list of famous French Swimmers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of French Swimmers.

1. Charles Devendeville (1882 - 1914)

With an HPI of 54.50, Charles Devendeville is the most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.

Charles Devendeville (8 March 1882 – 19 September 1914) was a French swimmer and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, where he received a gold medal in the underwater swimming. He died of injuries during the First World War, at age 32.

2. Gilbert Bozon (1935 - 2007)

With an HPI of 44.52, Gilbert Bozon is the 2nd most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Gilbert Bozon (19 March 1935 – 21 July 2007) was a French swimmer and Olympic medalist.

3. Jean Taris (1909 - 1977)

With an HPI of 43.77, Jean Taris is the 3rd most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Jean Charles Émile Taris (6 July 1909 – 10 January 1977) was a French swimmer who competed at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1928, he was eliminated in the heats of the 4×200 m freestyle relay and 1500 m freestyle. In 1932 he won a silver medal in the 400 m freestyle, 0.1 seconds behind Buster Crabbe, and finished sixth in the 1500 m freestyle. In 1936 he placed fourth in the 4×200 m freestyle relay and sixth in the 400 m freestyle. Taris was the subject of Jean Vigo's short film Jean Taris, Swimming Champion in 1930. He won two European titles in 1934, and finished second in the 400 m freestyle in 1931, 0.2 seconds behind István Bárány. In 1984 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. During his career Taris set 7 world and 49 national records, and won 34 national titles. He won the Seine river 8 km race four times.

4. Jeannette Campbell (1916 - 2003)

With an HPI of 43.72, Jeannette Campbell is the 4th most famous French Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Jeannette Morven Campbell (8 March 1916 – 15 January 2003) was a naturalized Argentine swimmer who won the silver medal in the 1936 Summer Olympics. She was the first Argentine female to participate at the Olympic Games. and the first to win a silver medal in 100 metre freestyle. Along her career, Campbell won 12 South American titles and 13 Argentine titles. She is regarded as one of the most notable Argentine female athletes of all time.

5. Kiki Caron (b. 1948)

With an HPI of 41.02, Kiki Caron is the 5th most famous French Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Christine "Kiki" Caron (born 10 July 1948 in Paris) is a French former backstroke swimmer. She won the silver medal in 100 m backstroke at the 1964 Summer Olympics and the gold medal in the same event at the 1966 European Aquatics Championships. She also participated in the 1968 Summer Olympics where she was the first woman to carry the French flag at the opening ceremony. During her swimming career she won 29 national swimming titles. Her elder sister Annie was also a swimmer and competed at the 1960 Olympics. After retiring from swimming she acted in two films: Le lys de mer (1969) and Violentata sulla sabbia (1971). In 1998, Caron was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In 2005, she was named Chevalier de la Legion of Honour. During the next year she published an autobiography titled Kiki with a preface written by Johnny Hallyday.

6. Camille Muffat (1989 - 2015)

With an HPI of 38.21, Camille Muffat is the 6th most famous French Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Camille Muffat (French pronunciation: [ka.mij myfa]; 28 October 1989 – 9 March 2015) was a French swimmer and three-time Olympic medalist. Swimming for the Olympic Nice Natation club, she specialised in the individual medley and the free style events. Her career ran from 2005 to 2014. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she won gold in the 400-metre freestyle, silver in the 200-metre freestyle and bronze in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay, becoming the fourth French swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal. She was also the third French athlete overall to win three Olympic medals at a single edition of the Olympic Games. She died in the Villa Castelli mid-air helicopter collision, at age 25, during the filming of French TV reality show Dropped for the TF1 network.

7. Alain Bernard (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 36.41, Alain Bernard is the 7th most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Alain Bernard (French pronunciation: [alɛ̃ bɛʁnaʁ]; born 1 May 1983) is a former French swimmer from Aubagne, Bouches-du-Rhône. Bernard won a total of four medals (two golds, one silver, and one bronze) at two Olympic Games (2008 and 2012). He also won numerous medals at the World Championships (short course and long course) and European Championships (short course and long course). Bernard formerly held the world record for the 50 metres freestyle (long course) and the 100 metres freestyle (long course and short course). Bernard has a shark tattoo on his right hip.

8. Florent Manaudou (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 35.65, Florent Manaudou is the 8th most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Florent Manaudou (French pronunciation: [flɔʁɑ̃ manodu]; born 12 November 1990) is a French competitive swimmer, an Olympic champion of the 50-meter freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics, and the younger brother of Laure Manaudou, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist in swimming. He competes for the Energy Standard Swim Club in the International Swimming League.

9. Frédérick Bousquet (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 32.80, Frédérick Bousquet is the 9th most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Frédérick Bousquet (French pronunciation: [fʁe.de.ʁik bu.skɛ], born 8 April 1981 in Perpignan) is a retired freestyle and butterfly swimmer from France. He was the holder of the world record in the 50 m freestyle in a time of 20.94 in long course, set on 26 April 2009 at the final of the French Championships. Since the record was swum in a banned, performance-enhancing suit it remained in limbo whether the record stood until FINA approved it in July following a modification of his suit. He is the first swimmer to go under the 21-second mark in this distance. He previously held the record in the 50 m short course in a time of 21.10, set in 2004 at the Men's NCAA Division One Swimming and Diving Championships, for over two years. At the 2009 World Championships in Rome Bousquet competed in the 50 and 100 free, capturing a silver in the 50 and bronze in the 100. Bousquet did not qualify for the 2012 Olympics but his ex-partner Laure Manaudou and his brother-in-law Florent Manaudou did.

10. Hugues Duboscq (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 31.04, Hugues Duboscq is the 10th most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Hugues Duboscq (born 29 August 1981 in Saint-Lô, Manche, France) is an Olympic breaststroke swimmer from France. He swam for France at the 2000, 2004, 2008 Olympics and 2012 Olympics. He has won three Olympic bronze medals. At the 2009 World Championships, he set the European Record in the men's 100 breaststroke (58.64).

People

Pantheon has 47 people classified as French swimmers born between 1882 and 2006. Of these 47, 42 (89.36%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living French swimmers include Kiki Caron, Alain Bernard, and Florent Manaudou. The most famous deceased French swimmers include Charles Devendeville, Gilbert Bozon, and Jean Taris. As of April 2024, 33 new French swimmers have been added to Pantheon including Charles Devendeville, Gilbert Bozon, and Jeannette Campbell.