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Frederick BousquetFrench athlete, freestyle and butterfly swimmer.
Date of Birth: 08.04.1981
Country:  France |
Content:
Biography of Frederick Bousquet
Frederick Bousquet, often called Fred, was born on April 8, 1981, in Perpignan, a historic French city near the Franco-Spanish border. In his childhood, he was passionate about football and spent all his time on the football field, dreaming of becoming a professional player. He even slept with a football. However, between the ages of 12 and 13, Frederick experienced a sudden growth spurt, reaching a height of 188 cm and a weight of 86 kg. His bones became fragile, and he suffered a complex fracture. He spent about a year in a cast, and the doctors advised him against playing football due to the risk. They offered Frederick a choice between dancing (which was unthinkable for him) and swimming. Frederick was on the verge of tears. Initially, he did not particularly enjoy being in the water, but then he started winning races, and it all took off.
Swimming Achievements
From 2001 to 2005, Bousquet competed for the Auburn University swim team in Auburn, Alabama, U.S. In 2005, his last year at the university, he won the 50-yard freestyle event at the NCAA Championships and U.S. Open with a time of 18.74 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 19.05 seconds set by Tom Jager in 1990. Bousquet became the first swimmer to complete the 50-yard freestyle in under 19 seconds and the 50-meter freestyle in under 21 seconds. His time of 18.74 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle event remained his personal best until February 13, 2010, when Frederick reduced it to 18.67 seconds at the Auburn Masters Invitational.
World Championships
In 2009, at the World Championships in Rome, Bousquet competed in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle events. He won the silver medal in the 50-meter event and the bronze medal in the 100-meter event. Until December 2009, Bousquet held the world record of 20.94 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle event in "long course" swimming, set on April 26, 2009, in the final of the French Swimming Championship. Due to Bousquet wearing a special enhanced swimsuit during the swim, his record remained in limbo for some time until the International Swimming Federation (FINA) approved it in July, recognizing the modification of Bousquet's swimsuit as legitimate. He was the first swimmer to break the 21-second mark on this distance. Prior to this, Bousquet held the record of 21.10 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle event in "short course" swimming, set by him in 2004 at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Swimming and Diving Championships.
Personal Life
On April 2, 2010, Bousquet and French world-class swimmer and Olympic team member Laure Manaudou welcomed their first child, a daughter named Manon. On September 20, 2010, the French Swimming Federation suspended Bousquet from competition for two months following a positive test result for the stimulant heptaminol. The athlete accepted his punishment without many words, stating that he had not read the instructions for the substance.
