I'm now a big fan of Yannick Agnel, he even comes from Preston's twin town Nimes.
Even in France, the young Agnel – who journalists complained was being wrongly referred to as Angel by the Brits – is known for being "different", firing leftfield answers and literary quotes during post-race interviews, memorising sonnets during competitions and appearing unflappable.
Media point out that he does not look like other French male swimmers – he has no tattoos, is proud of his pale skin and is not as muscular. "The unbearable lightness of Agnel" read a headline in the French sports paper L'Équipe.
Born in Nimes in the south of France, he was a precocious pre-school tennis player and footballer until his swimming prowess became evident in a neighbour's pool. As a child he was already winning titles complaining: "I hate to see someone ahead of me".
At 14, he trained in Nice, living without his parents, at the feted southern French club that has now produced three of the swimming gold medalists in the London Olympics. Once asked how he managed to pack in so much training, Agnel quoted the French political philosopher Montesquieu.
At a world competition in Stockholm he said he was memorising a Baudelaire sonnet for fun and learning Russian because he had so many Russian friends. Asked about the seriousness of swimming wins, he said it was about "just going up and down a giant pool" and not on a par with finding a cure for Aids.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/31/france-olympic-swimming-yannick-agnel?newsfeed=true
