Laure Manaudou, the most dominant middle-distance freestyler from 2004 and 2007, told French radio that she is unlikely ever to return to the pool. Her ambitions now lie in a career as an interior designer.

She told the NRJ programme that she had not missed swimming at all and that she had "no regrets" about her decision to skip the 2009 season in the wake of a disappointing 2008 season. "I have a life that suits me, right now," said Manaudou. "I'm growing ever more at ease...". 

She is hardly idle, however. Manaudou is working on the film "Le Coach" of Olivier Doran, alongside Jean-Paul Rouve and Richard Berry and has started to train as an interior decorator.

Manaudou remains the fastest 200m and 400m freestyle swimmer in a single textile suit. Her world records stood at 1:55.52 and 4:02.13 on February 1, 2008. A year and a half later, her best times leave her at 7th best over 200m and 4th over 400m. Until the advent of shiny non-textile suits, Manaudou's 4:02.13 effort was the best ever 400m ahead of the monumental 4:03.85 of Janet Evans, the American's time having stood at the world record between 1988 and 2006. Still second-best ever going into March 2008, Evans's best is now 9th on the all-time list. 

A reader notes the following: arena R-Evolutions were worn by Sara Isakovic on her way to a 1:54.97 medal in the 200m free at the Olympic Games in Bejing and by Federica Pellegrini on her way to the world 400m free record at the European championships in Eindhoven. Photographic evidence suggests that two suits were worn in at least one of those cases. 

Whatever the truth of the matter in these muddled times of the sad suits saga, Manaudou remains one of the most impressive middle distance freestylers the world has ever seen, her downturn in fortune coinciding with the suits saga but far more to do with the personal choices that the swimmer made in terms of training and preparation in 2007-2008.