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

Aubagne Aubagne (, ''Aubanha'' in Occitan language, Occitan according to the classic norm or ''Aubagno'' according to the Mistralian norm) is a Commune in France, commune in the southern French Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In ...

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and large ...

. 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 * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

(

long course An Olympic-size swimming pool conforms to regulated dimensions that are large enough for international competition. This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is in length, typically referred to as "long cour ...

) and the 100 metres freestyle (long course and

short course In swimming, the term short course (abbreviated SC) is used to identify a pool that is in length. The term is also often included in meet names when conducted in a short course pool. "Short course" is the second type of pool configuration current ...

). 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'', a ...

'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, spannin ...

, 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 The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. He also finished third in the men's 50 metres freestyle final behind

César Cielo Filho Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ce ...

of Brazil and

Amaury Leveaux Amaury Raymond Leveaux (born 2 December 1985) is a French swimmer from 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), and the 50 m butterfl ...

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) was 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 (french: Champion des champions de L'Équipe) 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. ...

(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 football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...

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

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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 Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a 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" (literally, ...

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

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

Satory Satory is an area south of Versailles in France. It is mostly known for its military camp, housing: * Weapon-testing facilities of Nexter Systems * Barracks and facilities for Gendarmerie including the GIGN headquarters and the Mobile Gendarm ...

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 Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

References

External links

* * * * *
Fiche de Bernard
website of the sports daily ''

''
"Alain Bernard"
n°29 on ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch" {{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 of France Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic bronze medalists in swimming People 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 Universiade medalists in swimming Sportspeople from Bouches-du-Rhône Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming Universiade gold medalists for France Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade