Yannick Agnel

Yannick Agnel
	Yannick Agnel in June 2012
Personal information
Full name	Yannick Agnel
Nationality	France
Born	9 June 1992 (age 32); Nîmes
Height	6 ft 7.5 in (2.02 m)
Weight	176 lb (80 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing France
Olympic Games
World Championships (LC)
World Championships (SC)
European Championships (LC)
European Junior Championships (LC)

Yannick Agnel (born 9 June 1992 in Nîmes) is a French swimmer and national record holder in the 200 and 400 m freestyle (long course). At the 2010 European Aquatics Championships, Agnel won three medals, including gold in the 400 m freestyle. Agnel is also a nine-time medalist at the European Junior Swimming Championships. He has won two Olympic gold medals, both at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Swimming career

At the 2009 European Junior Swimming Championships, Agnel won the 200 and 400 m freestyle in European junior record times. He was also a member of the 4×200 m freestyle relay that won gold ahead of Russia and Italy.

In April 2010, Agnel set the French record in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:46.35 to beat Amaury Leveaux's record of 1:46.54.^[1] In June 2010, he improved his record in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:46.30.

At the 2010 European Junior Swimming Championships, Agnel set the French record in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 3:46.26 to beat Nicolas Rostoucher's record of 3:46.28 en-route to winning gold.^[2]

At the 2010 European Aquatics Championships, Agnel won gold in the 400 m freestyle setting a new French and championships record.^[3] Agnel then combined with Fabien Gilot, William Meynard, and Alain Bernard in the 4×100 m freestyle relay to finish second behind Russia. As the second leg, Agnel had a 48.23 split.^[4] As the leadoff leg in the 4×200 m freestyle relay, Agnel broke his own French record in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:45.83. Agnel, with Clement Lefert, Antton Haramboure, and Jérémy Stravius finished in third place in the 4×200 m freestyle relay behind Russia and Germany.^[5]

At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, Agnel competed in three events. In his first event, the 400 m freestyle, Agnel finished in 6th place with a time of 3:45.24. In his second event, the 200 m freestyle, Agnel finished in fifth place with a time of 1:44.99, a new French record. Agnel won his only medal of the competition, a silver, in the 4×200 m freestyle relay. Teaming with Grégory Mallet, Jérémy Stravius, and Fabien Gilot, their team had a final time of 7:04.81, a new French record. The United States finished 1st with a time of 7:02.67.

In the 2012 Olympics in London Agnel anchored a come-from-behind gold medal effort in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay. Agnel pulled ahead of American Ryan Lochte in the final lap and France won with a time of 3:09:93 to the United States' time of 3:10:38. Agnel swam the fastest split time of the entire field. The next day he won a second gold medal, in the 200 meter freestyle with a time of 1:43.14, the fastest in French swimming history^[6] and 1.79 seconds ahead of silver medal winners Sun Yang and Park Tae-Hwan. He won a silver medal in the 4×200 m freestyle relay, behind the United States. Again he had the fastest split time of the field in the final. In the 100 meter freestyle Agnel finished fourth in a personal best time of 47.84, 0.04 of a second outside the medals.