400 m freestyle, men, 25 m pool

What to remember

It was at the French Championships in Angers, on November 15, 2012, that Yannick Agnel swam the short course 400 m freestyle in 3 min 32.25 s.

The swimmer from Nîmes was coming off an Olympic year. At the London Olympics, his first Games, he won the 200 m freestyle and the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay with Gilot, Leveaux and Lefert, and took silver in the 4 × 200 m relay. Swimming World named him European Swimmer of the Year for 2012. He then became world champion in the same two events in Barcelona in 2013.

A freestyle specialist from 100 m to 400 m, nicknamed "Le Squale" (the shark) for his appetite for racing, he long remained the only French swimmer to win two titles at the same Games, until Léon Marchand went further in 2024. He also set the French long course records in the 200 m and 400 m freestyle.