The Most Famous

SWIMMERS from France

This page contains a list of the greatest French Swimmers. The pantheon dataset contains 709 Swimmers, 47 of which were born in France. This makes France the birth place of the 9th most number of Swimmers behind China, and Hungary.

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. Gilbert Bozon (1935 - 2007)

With an HPI of 54.62, Gilbert Bozon is the most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

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

2. Charles Devendeville (1882 - 1914)

With an HPI of 54.23, Charles Devendeville is the 2nd most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

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.

3. Jean Taris (1909 - 1977)

With an HPI of 53.95, Jean Taris is the 3rd most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 18 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 52.92, Jeannette Campbell is the 4th most famous French Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 16 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 49.62, Kiki Caron is the 5th most famous French Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 18 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. Audrey Mestre (1974 - 2002)

With an HPI of 49.15, Audrey Mestre is the 6th most famous French Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Audrey Mestre (11 August 1974 – 12 October 2002) was a French world record-setting freediver.

7. Léon Marchand (b. 2002)

With an HPI of 46.42, Léon Marchand is the 7th most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Léon Marchand (French pronunciation: [leɔ̃ maʁʃɑ̃] ; born 17 May 2002) is a French swimmer. He is the World record holder in the long course 200 and 400 metres individual medley, and in the short course 200 metres individual medley; the Olympic record holder in the 200 and 400 metres individual medley, 200 metres butterfly and the 200 metres breaststroke; the European record holder in the long course 200 and 400 metres individual medley and the 200 meters breaststroke, in the short course 100 and 200 metres individual medley and the French record holder in the long course 200 and 400 metres individual medley, 200 metres butterfly and the 200 metres breaststroke, and in the short course 100, 200, 400 metres individual medley and the 200 metres breaststroke. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals in the 200 m medley, 200 metre breaststroke, 200 metre butterfly, and 400 metre medley. He became the fourth swimmer and third male swimmer in Olympic history to win four individual gold medals at a single Games. As a member of the Arizona State University swim team, at the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, Marchand won NCAA titles in the 200 yard breaststroke and 200 yard individual medley. At the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, he won NCAA titles in the 200 yard breaststroke, 200 yard individual medley, and 400 yard individual medley. At the 2024 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in his last year before going pro, he won NCAA titles in the 200 yard breaststroke, 500 yard freestyle and 400 yard individual medley. He won with his college swim team the NCAA championship title for the first time ever.

8. Camille Muffat (1989 - 2015)

With an HPI of 46.14, Camille Muffat is the 8th most famous French Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 43 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.

9. Laure Manaudou (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 45.64, Laure Manaudou is the 9th most famous French Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Laure Manaudou (French pronunciation: [lɔʁ manodu]; born 9 October 1986) is a retired French Olympic, world and European champion swimmer. She has held the world record in freestyle events between 200 and 1500 meter. Her younger brother Florent Manaudou is also an Olympic gold medalist swimmer.

10. Florent Manaudou (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 45.62, Florent Manaudou is the 10th most famous French Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 32 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.

People

Pantheon has 51 people classified as French swimmers born between 1882 and 2006. Of these 51, 45 (88.24%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living French swimmers include Kiki Caron, Léon Marchand, and Laure Manaudou. The most famous deceased French swimmers include Gilbert Bozon, Charles Devendeville, and Jean Taris. As of April 2024, 3 new French swimmers have been added to Pantheon including Audrey Mestre, Franck Esposito, and Sébastien Rouault.