CHARLOTTE BONNET

Charlotte Bonnet is not only an Olympic, world and European medallist but she is also a woman who cares deeply about children’s safety in the water.

The Frenchwoman, who won 4x200m freestyle relay bronze at the 2012 Olympics, is part of the ‘Swimmer and Citizen’ scheme which teaches hundreds of children to swim every year.

The 2018 European 200m freestyle champion told sportmag.fr: “Learning to swim is a real social issue, there are still far too many drownings, especially among children. And then as a swimmer, I consider that it is also my role to pass on to the youngest and, why not, make them want to compete.”

Bonnet has been at the top table in swimming since winning double gold at the 2011 European Junior Championships in Belgrade. A year later – aged 17 – she became an Olympic medallist and 10 years on, since when she has made regular trips to international podiums.

At the European Championships in Rome in August 2022, Bonnet won relay gold and three silver medals.

After winning 100m freestyle silver, an emotional Bonnet talked about how much it meant to her, telling the FFN: “Very important, because when I go back a year, I wanted to stop. It feels good, even if I’m far from what I was able to achieve before, to go back to my best. To confront myself, to feel confident. The path is long, maybe I won’t be able to achieve what I want to do in Paris. But you have to take it step by step.”