Alain Bernard (; born 1 May 1983) is a former French swimmer from

Aubagne Aubagne (; according to the classic norm or according to the Mistralian norm) is a Commune in France, commune in the southern French Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2020, the commune was awarded three flowers by the ...

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

. 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 Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

(

long course An Olympic-size swimming pool is a swimming pool which conforms to the regulations for length, breadth, and depth made by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) for swimming at the Summer Olympics and the swimming events at the World Aquatics Champion ...

) and the 100 metres freestyle (long course and short course). Bernard has a shark tattoo on his right hip.

2008 European (Long Course) Championships

Bernard won the European (Long Course) Championships 2008 100 m freestyle final in a new world record time of 47.50 seconds on 22 March 2008. He had already beaten the world record the previous day, finishing in 47.60 seconds in the semi-finals. On 23 March 2008 Bernard broke

Eamon Sullivan Eamon Wade Sullivan (born 30 August 1985) is an Australian former sprint swimmer, three-time Olympic medallist, and former world record-holder in two events. He was also the winner of the first season of ''Celebrity MasterChef Australia'', and ...

's 50 m freestyle world record in the semi-finals of the same championships, setting a new world record of 21.50 seconds. Bernard would go on to win the 50m freestyle final in 21.66 seconds. But Bernard's 21.50-second world record only stood for four days; it was reclaimed by

2008 Olympics

At the French national championships, Bernard qualified for the Olympic Games in Beijing in the 50 m freestyle (with a time of 21.69 s) and 100 m freestyle (47.82 s). Before the 4×100 m freestyle relay, Bernard taunted the American swim team. Bernard claimed to a newspaper that he and his French teammates, favorite to win the relay, "were going to smash the American team. That's what we came here for". But the French team ended up in second place behind the American team by .08 seconds. Bernard, who had a lead going into the final leg of slightly less than a body length, was caught in the final strokes by

Jason Lezak Jason Edward Lezak (born November 12, 1975) is an American former competitive swimmer and swimming executive. As a swimmer, Lezak specialized in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races. His pro career lasted for nearly fifteen years, spanning ...

, whose final leg of 46.06 seconds was the fastest relay leg in history. The close defeat left Bernard "wounded," according to his coach. However, he rebounded to win the men's 100 metres freestyle gold medal. Bernard had one day earlier set a new 100 metres freestyle long course world record of 47.20 s in the semi-finals. Bernard became only the second Frenchman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming, after Jean Boiteux, who won the 400 m freestyle at the 1952 Helsinki Games. He also finished third in the men's 50 metres freestyle final behind

César Cielo Filho Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar River, in Colombia * Cesar R ...

of Brazil and

Amaury Leveaux Amaury Raymond Leveaux (born 2 December 1985) is a French swimmer from Delle, Territoire de Belfort. Leveaux is a former world record holder in the 100 m freestyle (short course – 44.94 sec), the 50 m freestyle (short course – 20.48 sec) ...

of France, making it the first time in Olympic history that France had produced two medallists in a swimming final.

2012 Olympics

Bernard failed to qualify for the 50 m freestyle and 100 m freestyle events of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London by finishing only fifth in both events during the French swimming championships in March 2012. He was in the French 4 × 100 m freestyle relay team in the heats at the Olympics, but was not included in the team for the final. France won the event which made Bernard a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He announced his retirement from swimming shortly after the 2012 Olympic Games.

Awards

Bernard was chosen as the 2008

L'Équipe Champion of Champions ''L'Équipe'' Champion of Champions () refers to four awards presented by the daily sports newspaper '' L'Équipe'', to female and male international sports athletes and female and male French sports athletes. Various special awards have also bee ...

(France category) by

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

. He was also chosen as the 2008 RTL Champion of Champions by

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, a French commercial radio network. This annual sports award was inaugurated in 2008. On 1 January 2013, Bernard was made an Officer (Officier) of the

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National Order of Merit.

Personal bests

The 100m long course time (46.94) was not admissible as a world record because it was swum in a non-approved swimsuit.PR49 – FINA APPROVAL OF WORLD RECORDS
Fina.org. Retrieved 9 August 2012.

Service in the French Gendarmerie

Alain Bernard has been a volunteer in the

Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

since 2008 and was until recently attached to the ''Groupement blindé de gendarmerie mobile'' based in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

Satory Satory is an area south of Versailles (city), Versailles in France. It is mostly known for its military camp, housing: * Weapon-testing facilities of Nexter Systems * Barracks and facilities for French Gendarmerie, Gendarmerie including the G ...

in the

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.department.

References

External links

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Alain 1983 births World record setters in swimming French male freestyle swimmers Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Living people Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Olympic swimmers for France Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Sportspeople from Aubagne Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics European champions for France Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France Swimmers at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Swimmers at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Summer World University Games medalists in swimming Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games gold medalists for France Occitan sportspeople Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade 21st-century French sportsmen