French Olympic gold medalist and World Record-holder Amaury Leveaux has announced his comeback. Five years after hanging up his suit and goggles, the 6’7-1/2” sprinter told Le Parisien, “I’m coming back to swimming. And specifically, the goal is Tokyo. It’s a big challenge but I think I still have something left to do. I thought I’d turned the page, put the swimming book away, but there’s still a big part left to write, and I want to do it.”
Leveaux is a 4-time Olympic medalist. He won gold in 2012 as a member of the French 4×100 free relay. He swam the first leg in the final, going 48.13 to put the French in a strong position against the Americans, who led off with Nathan Adrian’s 47.89. Eventually Yannick Agnel overtook Ryan Lochte on the final leg, and the French (Leveaux, Fabien Gilot, Clément Lefert, and Agnel) touched out the Americans by .45. He also won a silver medal in London as part of the 4×200 free relay. In 2008, he won a silver medal individually in the 50 free and led off France’s second-place 4×100 free relay (47.91) in the race that Jason Lezak famously anchored for the Americans. Leveaux still holds the World Record in the SCM 100 free (44.94, from 2008 World Championships).
Leveaux told Le Parisien that it’s something he’s been thinking about since May. Even though he’s only been in the water three times in five years, he’s confident he can get back into competitive form. “I didn’t really miss swimming. To be honest, I still don’t miss it. [But] I’m a competitor. I love challenges. I have plenty of challenges with my son [editor’s note: Leveaux is the father of 3-year-old Edward], w this extra little challenge, to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games, that’s something I’d like to do.”
Leveaux will be moving to Los Angeles on October 1st to train under Dave Salo at USC. He expects to have a rough first 3 months while he gets back into shape. He says he called Salo and presented his plan, told him what kind of shape he’s in and how long he’s been out of the water. Salo agreed to train him. “He knows exactly what I need in order to succeed,” said Leveaux. Later in the interview he added, “I know I have an athletic side, and I have the will [to succeed]. And I think that will the will, I can do anything. Anyone can, if they have the will.”
Leveaux is not coming alone. With him will be a cameraman and an editor so people “can follow my work on a daily basis,” as well as a personal trainer and a chef. “I need optimal conditions, [I need] calm. In France it would have been complicated. I get bored with things quickly but [in this case] I won’t have enough time. It’s just 20 months away….”
Actually, the world really hasn’t come a long way in the men’s 100 free since 2012…or really 2004 for that matter lol
I think a better comparison is Anthony Ervin. Leveaux will be younger in Tokyo than Ervin was in Rio.
It’s a WILL article😉
I am not sure the best way to succeed is to bring a cameraman, an editor and a chef.
To me it looks like a publicity stunt and a way for him to make by some producer paying for this experiment. Salo will take some of that money. Katijima had a similar, if not bigger, circus with him when he swam at Trojan. However if had the resume to deserve it and never took off 5 years. Just ignore and it will go away. It sounds like a French problem.
Shades of Dara Torres.
Bringing along a personal traimer, chef, and camera man? Does France pay their swimmers that much or does he come from money?
“He told Le Parisian newspaper that he is negotiating a sponsorship deal to cover his costs, that he planned to train in Los Angeles, starting next month, and that he will have a chef, a cameraman and a film editor with him.”
Yeah, how can he afford to do that? Just pick up and move to America and he has a young child to boot. Is he married?? If so is the wife coming along?? Does he pay Salo to train him?
Maybe it’s a film studio paying for all of that?
Seems like a safe bet and yet another reason he’s training in LA (not that Salo is a bad choice, regardless).
Yes, that is a big support group….. and expensive, too! Leveaux at his peak wouldn’t have been a major earner. Now that he’s almost invisible his capacity to raise sponsorship/marketing income would be virtually nil. Does he have a very rich daddy?
Just need Manadou now.
Stravius
Metalla
Leveaux
Is definitely a gold medal contender if all in shape.
And I stress ‘all in shape’
USA so deep now maybe there downfall there will be too many guys go 48.0-1 who do you pick for one race in four years to get it right.
France, Metalla always leads, stravius last. Simple.
Find two more guys , complicated.
Agnel? Maybe he just needed a break. It would be awesome if he came back and swam fast.
Now France just need to Beat Russia on Europeu and Brazil also..
If you are focusing on the 50 I don’t see why wouldn’t train with MA and Race Pace (who has recently moved to CA).
Honestly training any event with MA would be smart for these top swimmers. He trained in a SCM 2 lane pool in his backyard and beat the best in the world. The kid is on to something for sure with his training techniques.
I do think that USRPT is extremely promising and deserves to be studied more extensively. That being said, there’s simply no way to know whether MA’s natural ability, work ethic, etc. would translate to poorer, equivalent, or better results in a different training environment.
There’s no way to know but people who speculate that he’d do better with traditional training are pretty much saying he’d be the greatest/most versatile sprinter ever with traditional training. He already is 21.4 in the 50 free at 19 years old. He won 3 different 50s at Nationals. I have a hard time believing he could have been much better at 19 with any other training.