“For me, it’s like rape”: insults, harassment… Laure Manaudou looks back on the distribution of her intimate photos on the internet

During the 2004 Olympic Games which took place in Athens, France discovered swimmer Laure Manaudou, then aged 17. She won three Olympic medals (gold in the 400m freestyle, silver in the 800m freestyle and bronze in the 100m backstroke). But a few months later, when she enjoyed worldwide fame, intimate photos of them were revealed.

“I think it lasted a good 15 years”

On the occasion of the release of the documentary looking back on her career, Laure Manaudou went to the set of the show Clique and answered Mouloud Achour's questions. With the journalist, she discusses the affair of the photos published on the internet. The Olympic champion recounts the devastating effect and how it affected her life.

“I knew that at some point these photos were going to come out. It's complicated to live with because for me it's like rape. Today, it's trivialized because it happens a lot, but at that time, in fact, I was one of the first I think.”

The consequences can be enormous, as Laure Manaudou mentions. “If it can be of use to anyone, so much the better. Today I use it for prevention, especially with my daughter who will be 15 years old. We don't see everything that's going on in people's heads and especially how it can affect a person.”she says on the set of the show Canal +.

“Now it has stopped but for many years I received messages with a lot of insults and who sent me the photos. So obviously, it threw me back into it. I think it lasted a good 15 years”she laments.

The photos were intended for his former companion, Pierre Henri, who asked him to pose. It was the latter who posted the photos online and a wave of insults and harassment followed for many years.

“An intimate and unprecedented testimony”

The documentary on the French swimmer will be broadcast this Sunday, January 19 at 9 p.m. Canal +.

“August 15, 2004. Twenty years before the exploits of Léon Marchand, the French fell in love with a swimming prodigy, gold medalist at the Athens Olympic Games. Laure Manaudou was only 17 years old at the time and seemed promising to the brightest sporting future But nothing is going to go as planned, Twenty years later, Laure confronts her own story and delivers an intimate and unprecedented testimony.notes the television channel’s website.