Yvonne Godard, little known to the general French public, is nevertheless one of the first great champions of French swimming, breaking all national records. A life lesson that Bruno Giroux tells us.
The question of the day
Who is Yvonne Godard, after whom a swimming pool is named in the 20th arrondissement of Paris?
The response from France Bleu Paris
To answer us, Bruno Girouxauthor of the novel “ Chlorine », former PE teacher and former swimming coach at the Espoir center in Toulouse.
For Bruno Giroux, Yvonne Godard is the replica of Jean Tarris, among women, as good in sprinting as in long distance. He introduces us to this swimming champion: “ I have immense admiration for Yvonne Godard. An Olympic swimmer, she had an extremely difficult life. In 1914, she was six years old, her father had barely taught her to swim when the war broke out. She was injured by a shrapnel. At the end of the war she was ten years old, she could neither read nor write. »
Nothing predestined her to swim, and yet… Bruno Giroux says: “ At seventeen she took up swimming again and she proved to be immensely gifted. In just four years, she will own all the records in France, from the 50 meter freestyle swim to the 1,500 meter freestyle. Then 1931, a great year for her, she became European champion in the 100 meter freestyle, and also finished 3rd in the 400 meter freestyle in the Tourelles swimming pool, now the George Vallerey swimming pool. But in 1931 she fell victim to*’a car accident which will reduce her ability to participate in the 1932 Olympic Games**. She will still achieve a brilliant 5th place in the 400 meters final.*”
“ A few months later, it will happen again. She has another car accident. Which is his seventh! This time she comes close to death : broken ribs, hemorrhage, she lost several liters of blood. But she gets through it. She always comes through! But she stopped swimming at just 25 years old. »
An incredible life, a perfect example of resilience. “ She changes her life, and takes her pilot’s license, and also as a nurse. When the Second World War broke out, she was very active in going to the front. »
Yvonne Godard died in 1975, at the age of sixty-seven. Today, she remains one of the very rare swimmers to have a swimming pool in her name. A swimming pool located in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, rue Serpollet.
