arena renews contract with French sprint champion Florent Manaudou

18 January 2022

arena is pleased to announce the renewal of its partnership with 4-time Olympic medallist and 4-time World champion, Florent Manaudou. The 31-year-old Frenchman’s new contract runs through 2024 and includes the Summer Olympics in Paris.

"The technical equipment supplier is a crucial partner for a swimmer's performance,” said Florent. “I am very happy with the renewed confidence of ARENA which will accompany me until the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. This historical equipment supplier of world swimming gives me the necessary assets and the listening skills to obtain more successes and medals during these next years. Thank you.”

Having started swimming seriously at the age of 13, it took Florent some time to win his first major international title, but it was a big one: the 2012 Olympic 50 freestyle in London. Swimming as an outsider in lane 7, he was the first Frenchman to win an Olympic title in the event, and he did so with the then-fastest time in history in a textile suit (21.34).

The following year at the World Championships in Barcelona, Manaudou made the finals in both the 50m freestyle and butterfly without finishing on the podium, but with the French relay team he took home the 4x100m freestyle relay gold. His rise continued in 2014 as he first won four gold medals at Berlin’s European Championships (50m & 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle), and then six medals at Doha’s World Short Course Championships, including three golds and two world records (50m freestyle, 50m backstroke), the latter of which still stands today.

2015 brought him more success, including the 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly, and 4x100m freestyle world titles in Kazan, lowering his own unofficial textile world record in the 50m freestyle with a time of 21.19. After three gold medals at the 2016 European Championships in London, Manaudou was out-touched at the Rio Olympics for the 50m freestyle gold medal by one-hundredth of a second, and added a second silver medal with the French 4x100m freestyle relay team.

Florent then took a 3-year break from swimming to pursue his passion for handball, returning to the pool in 2019 with some impressive results. Despite not medaling at the 2020 European Championships in Budapest, he qualified for the postponed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where he won his third consecutive Olympic medal in 50 freestyle – a silver – in 21.55.

Now a veteran at the age of 31, Florent has shown he still has what it takes at the highest level of the sport, and arena is thrilled to be partnering with him as he targets his home Olympics in 2024.