Béryl Émilie Paulette Gastaldello (born 16 February 1995) is a French

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and French national record holder in the 50-meter backstroke who competed for Texas A&M University, and participated in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics in freestyle and stroke events. Excelling in international competition, she was a five-time gold medal winner in individual and relay freestyle events at the European Championships. Gastaldello was born 16 February 1996 in Southern coastal

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, to swimmers

Véronique Jardin Véronique Jardin (15 September 1966 – 8 June 2023) was a French freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and in the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and ...

and Éric Gastaldello. Her paternal grandmother Amélie Mirkowitch was also a swimmer. She attended Académie de Nice, and grew up in Miramas, France, 35 miles Northeast of Marseille. She started swimming at the age of 8 and began serious training when she reached 16. In France, she trained with Cercle Des Nageurs de Marseille where she was coached and mentored by Mathieu Burban. Around 18 in 2014, she moved to College Station, Texas as an international recruit for Texas A&M. Although her specialization is mostly butterfly and freestyle, she broke the French national record in the 50m backstroke in 2015. At the end of her college career at Texas A&M, she entered the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

s held in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 2018 and won her first gold medal in international competition.

Texas A&M University

Gastaldello attended Texas A&M University and swam for the Aggies Swimming team from 2014-2018, where she was trained and managed by Hall of Fame coach Steve Bultman. At Texas A&M, Gastaldello earned All-American honors 13 times. She was the University record holder in both the 50 and 100-free style and also held records in the 400 free relay and both the 200 and 400 medley relays. Performing well in conference competition, in 2015, she captured an SEC championship title in the 100 butterfly. In both 2016 and 2017, she was an SEC title holder in the 400 medley relay.

World aquatics, French Nationals

She competed at the

2015 World Aquatics Championships The 16th FINA World Aquatics Championships, FINA World Championships (), also Aquatics 2015, were held in Kazan, Russia from 24 July to 9 August 2015. Russia hosted this event for the first time. The number of participating national teams (190), ...

, as well as in the

2017 World Aquatics Championships The 17th FINA World Championships () were held in Budapest, Hungary from 14 to 30 July 2017.

. More significantly, she medaled in the World Aquatics Championships in 2019, 2021, and 2022 taking a gold in the 4x50 freestyle relay, a bronze in the 4x100 freestyle relay, and two silvers in the 100-meter medley. At the 2019 French National Championships, she also captured a gold medal.

2016, 2020 Olympics

At a high point in international competition, Gastaldello competed for France in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics in the 100-meter freestyle, the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, the 100-meter butterfly, and the 4x100-meter medley relay. Her best finish was seventh in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, where the French team made the finals. She also participated in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics for France in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, placing 10th, and in the 100-meter backstroke, where she placed 23rd. Gastaldello was a third-generation Olympic athlete representing

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. As a professional, she has been a member of th
LA Current Club Team
of the International Swim League (ISL), and has been represented b
ELIS Athletics
an international sports management and marketing agency. Her hobbies include

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

and playing percussion.

References

External links

A&M University, Women's Swimming and Diving, Béryl Gastaldello

Olympedia Bio, Beryl Gastaldello

Béryl Gastaldello
at SwimSwam.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gastaldello, Beryl 1995 births Living people French female backstroke swimmers French female butterfly swimmers French female freestyle swimmers Swimmers from Marseille Olympic swimmers for France Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2013 Mediterranean Games European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Texas A&M Aggies women's swimmers French expatriate swimmers in the United States Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century French sportswomen