LESAFFRE Fantine

France

Swimming

Date of Birth: 10 Nov 1994

Age: 26

Gender: Female

Place of birth: ROUBAIX

Birth Country:

France

Place of residence : ANTIBES

Residence Country:

France

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Swimming	Women's 200m Individual Medley
	Women's 400m Individual Medley

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 400m Individual Medley - Heat 3	Finished
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 200m Individual Medley - Heat 3	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Olympic Games

Year	Location	200IndMed	400IndMed
2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	H (2:15.71)	H (4:44.47)

World Championships

Year	Location	200IndMed	400IndMed
2019	Gwangju, KOR	SF (2:12.18)	8th (4:39.68)
2015	Kazan, RUS	-	H (4:46.06)

European Championships

Year	Location	200Breast	200IndMed	400IndMed
2018	Glasgow, GBR	H (DNS)	5th (2:11.71)	1st (4:34.17)

World Championships Short Course

Year	Location	400Free	200Breast	200IndMed	400IndMed
2018	Hangzhou, CHN	-	H (2:25.07)	H (2:08.27)	3rd (4:27.31)
2016	Windsor, ON, CAN	H (4:12.91)	-	H (2:12.46)	H (4:38.18)

Legend
Free - Freestyle, Back - Backstroke, Breast - Breaststroke, Fly - Butterfly, IndMed - Individual Medley, SF - Semifinal, H - Heats, DNS - Did Not Start, M - Men, W - Women, X - Mixed, DSQ - Disqualified, [Relay athlete without time] - Did not swim in final

Occupation:

Police Athlete

Education:

Sports and Recreation Studies

Languages spoken:

French

Club name:

Cercle des Nageurs d'Antibes [France]

Coach:

Franck Esposito [personal], FRA, from 2018

Sporting relatives:

Her father Patrice was a member of the French swimming team, and her uncle Bruno Lesaffre represented France in swimming at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. (lavoixdunord.fr, 24 Jul 2016; lemonde.fr, 20 Jul 2019; SportsDeskOnline, 13 Feb 2020)

Start:

She first learned to swim as a toddler. "When I was age two or three, my father was a lifeguard and my grandparents had swum at my first club, so it's a family thing. My father threw me in the pool and I learned fast." (besidesport.com, 11 Mar 2019)

Reason:

"I came to competitive swimming late, at age 14. I really became interested after watching the 2012 Olympics in London where a Chinese swimmer, Ye Shiwen, smashed the world record in the 400m individual medley. That inspired me to try the event." (besidesport.com, 11 Mar 2019)

Ambition:

To compete at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. (lemonde.fr, 20 Jul 2019)

Hero:

Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu, US swimmer Katie Ledecky. (lemonde.fr, 20 Jul 2019)

Award:

A swimming pool in Roubaix, France, is named after her and her grandmother Danielle. (lemonde.fr, 20 Jul 2019)

General Interest

General
STRESS MANAGEMENT
She credits her victory in the 400m individual medley at the 2018 European Championships to a number of factors, including improved stress management at major events. "Lots of things fell into place [in 2018], above all my management of stress has changed. Honestly I don't really know how, but I managed to get a handle on my stress at international competitions, and that's when things started to happen." (rmcsport.bfmtv.com, 23 Apr 2019; lavoixdunord.fr, 10 Dec 2018)

MEDLEY PREFERENCE
She says she likes the versatility of the medley events. "It is often said that swimmers do not choose our main speciality, it's the speciality that chooses us. In my case I practised breaststroke before taking up the medley events. However, I have the skill of knowing how to swim correctly in all four strokes. When I began competing in medley events it went well, with good results. But what I love the most is the versatility that the mix of strokes offers in terms of endurance, speed and transitions as well. Besides I get bored very quickly during training if I do the same thing all the time. As I'm a medley swimmer I don't work the same stroke every day, and that's really what I like." (dicodusport.fr, 09 Jul 2020)

TATTOO PASSION
She has a strong passion for tattoos, an interest she developed at a young age. "That comes from my mother who has tattoos and piercings from head to toes. During my childhood I was with her in tattoo shops and I got hooked into this world. While I was in the waiting room I would look at all the photographs. I was always impressed and just wanted to have one since I was 10 years old." She got her first tattoo, a lizard, on one of her feet. She then had a phoenix tattooed on her right side, her left arm covered with different designs including the Olympic rings, and a valkyrie image on her left thigh. "The phoenix represents my childhood and my biological mother. The valkyrie represents femininity and women's power. Everybody says that once you get your first tattoo that it becomes an addiction and we cannot stop, and that's exactly what happened. I have ideas for all of my body and I don't know when I will stop." (beinsports.com, 11 May 2020)

OCCUPATION
She is a non-commissioned officer in the French gendarmarie [police]. (lessor.org, 19 Dec 2020)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos