First Leisel Jones leaves her coach and now Laure Manaudou. According to reports in France today, Manaudou is splitting with her long-time coach, Philppe Lucas, to live in Italy with her boyfriend.
Here’s an exerpt from Craig Lord’s commentary on SwimNews.com:
The unthinkable has happened: Laure Manaudou has left her coach Philippe Lucas for a life in Italy with boyfriend Luca Marin. Is this the beginning of the end of the Olympic champion’s career?
Just 15 months out from the Olympic Games in Beijing, the Manaudou-Lucas era is over, according to Pascal Glo of L’Équipe in a report second in France today only to the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as the new President of Gaul.
The relationship has lasted since 2001 and Lucas has taken a talented swimmer to national hero and to the door of the pantheon of greats. Now, she is reported to have taken up residence with Marin in Turin.