Speedo

The Addict

I've been swimming since I was five; my parents insisted I learn.

I liked the water straight away and took to it instantly.

I remember the first moment I realised swimming is special. I was seven and it came out of nowhere. It was the first time I swam a full lap of a 25m pool without grabbing the sides.

I hadn't built up to it. I just did it and it was then that I suddenly understood how good swimming feels. I felt so proud, but more so, I felt like I was breaking the rules and escaping gravity. I felt like I was free.

Now I'm 33 and I feel more at home in the water than I do on land. I swim three or four times a week in my hometown of Melun, on the outskirts of Paris.

I write my own training programmes and swim up to 6km every time. I love challenging myself, giving my best and sharing the pool with my training mates. I train hard. I can't miss a session.

But I am not training for a competition. I have never swum against anyone in my life. I never will. That's not why I swim.

I swim because it feels different under the water. It washes my mind and takes me away from my everyday worries. I like the sound of water in my ears, the silence.

I swim because I can't stop. I'm addicted to it.