Yannick Agnel (born 9 June 1992) is a French former competitive swimmer who specialized in freestyle events, and is a three-time Olympic medalist. In his Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he won gold in the 200-meter freestyle, gold in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and silver in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. He is the current world record holder in the 400-meter freestyle (short course), the European record holder in the 800-meter freestyle (short course), and the national record holder in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle (long course).
Agnel's success earned him Swimming World European Swimmer of the Year award in 2012.
Early life
Agnel was born in Nîmes in 1992, the son of a nurse and a director of human resources. He was named after French tennis player Yannick Noah. Agnel began swimming at the age of eight after a neighbor spotted his talent and urged his parents to enroll him in a swimming club. He later integrated Skema Business School to study business. He is now in the prestigious French Grande École Paris-Dauphine IX.
Swimming career
Early career
At the 2009 European Junior Swimming Championships, Agnel won the 200- and 400-meter freestyle in European junior record times. He was also a member of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay that won gold ahead of Russia and Italy.
In April 2010, Agnel set the French record in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:46.35 to beat Amaury Leveaux's record of 1:46.54. In June 2010, he improved his record in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:46.30.
At the 2010 European Junior Swimming Championships, Agnel set the French record in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3:46.26 to beat Nicolas Rostoucher's record of 3:46.28 en route to winning gold.
2010 European Championships
At the 2010 European Aquatics Championships, Agnel won gold in the 400-meter freestyle setting a new French and championships record. Agnel then combined with Fabien Gilot, William Meynard, and Alain Bernard in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay to finish second behind Russia. As the second leg, Agnel had a 48.23 split. As the leadoff leg in the 4×200 m freestyle relay, Agnel broke his own French record in the 200-meter 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-meter freestyle relay behind Russia and Germany.
2011 World Championships
At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, Agnel competed in three events. In his first event, the 400-meter freestyle, Agnel finished in 6th place with a time of 3:45.24. In his second event, the 200-meter 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-meter 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.
2012
2012 Summer Olympics
(NR)
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Agnel won a total of three medals: two golds and one silver. In his first event, Agnel anchored a come-from-behind effort in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay to win gold with Amaury Leveaux, Fabien Gilot, and Clément Lefert. Diving in with a 0.55 s deficit, Agnel was able to cut that down to a 0.30 s deficit at the 350-meter mark. In the last 50-meters, Agnel pulled ahead of American Ryan Lochte 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 with a time of 46.74, the only individual to break 47 seconds. The next day, Agnel won his second gold medal in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:43.14, the fastest in French swimming history and 1.79 seconds ahead of silver medal winners Sun Yang and Park Tae-hwan. In the final, Agnel led from start-to-finish, recording a time of 50.64 in the first 100-meters and 52.50 in the last 100-meters. His time of 25.98 for the last 50-meters was by far the fastest in the field. Agnel won his final medal, a silver, in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay behind the United States with Amaury Leveaux, Grégory Mallet, and Clément Lefert. He had the fastest split time of the field in the final with a time of 1:43.24 as the anchor leg. In his final event, the 100-meter freestyle, Agnel finished fourth in a personal best time of 47.84, 0.04 s of a second outside the medals. The European Swimming Federation named Agnel male European swimmer of the year 2012.