Gilles Simon: An exceptional 2008 season for the Nice tennis player. Ranked 29th in the world a year ago, he climbed the ranks over twelve months to find himself comfortably in seventh place today. His record is simply one of the best on the circuit: he won three trophies (Casablanca, Indianapolis, Bucharest), achieved at least one victory against the top three players on the planet (Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic), qualified for the Masters in Shanghai, and secured the title at the Masters France that ended last Sunday. A splendid representation of Nice on the world’s courts. The Simon rocket is expected to continue causing trouble for his opponents in 2009. The first step of a year that promises to be busy: the Hopman Cup with Nice native Alizรฉ Cornet, to represent France in Australia.
Camille Muffat: Rarely highlighted in the media compared to Laure Manaudou, Coralie Balmy, or Aurore Mongel, she is nevertheless one of the best French swimmers. Born in Nice nineteen years ago, the swimmer focused on her races and participated in all the major competitions in 2008. From the European Long Course Championships in Eindhoven (Netherlands) to the Short Course Championships in Rijeka (Croatia), passing by the Beijing Olympics, she showcased her potential. Bronze medal in the Netherlands for the 200m individual medley, she won silver in the 400m individual medley in Croatia. In 2009, there is no doubt that she will be present at the most significant events, with the highlight being the Long Course World Championships in Rome next July.
Alain Bernard: He remarkably distinguished himself this year by becoming the first French Olympic champion in the 100 meters freestyle at the Beijing Olympics with a time of 47.21 seconds. He brought three medals to France from his Olympic journey. Born in Aubagne in 1983, he joined the Club des Nageurs d’Antibes in 2006. Since then, he has been lining up victories, breaking the French record for the 100m freestyle, and the world record for the 100 meters freestyle in 2008. Alain Bernard has recently been named French Champion of the Year by the newspaper L’Equipe. He is also co-president of the organizing committee for Nice’s bid for the 2018 Olympic Games.
