Christel Bouvron
Singaporean swimmer (born 1984)
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Mei Yen “Christel” Bouvron (born 1 October 1984) is a Singaporean former swimmer, who specialised in freestyle and butterfly events.[1] She is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004), a double finalist at the Asian Games (2002), and a gold medalist in the 200 m butterfly at the 2003 SEA Games. Bouvron also became the first swimmer to qualify for the Olympics since 1920.
Singapore| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Christel Bouvron Mei Yen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | Singapore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 October 1984 Singapore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 62 kg (137 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, butterfly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Notre Dame (U.S.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Education
Bouvron studied at Raffles Girls' School[2] and Anglo-Chinese Junior College.[3] In May 2002, Bouvron announced she was skipping the A level examinations and to study at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana in August. Bouvron cited that US would be a more conducive place to train and study at the same time, "I don't want to do the A levels here because it is difficult to juggle both swimming and studies."[4][5] Bouvron majored in anthropology.[6]
Career
During the 1999 SEA Games, Bouvron won the silver medal for the 400 m freestyle and broke the national record, formerly held by Joscelin Yeo, with a time of 4:21.85 .[7] She later won the silver medal at the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay with Cheryl Chong, Phua Shu Yan and Yeo.[7]
Bouvron made her first Singaporean team, as a 15-year-old teen, at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She failed to advance into the succeeding round in any of her individual events, finishing thirty-sixth in the 400 m freestyle (4:25.16), and thirty-second in the 200 m butterfly (2:17.62).[8][9]
In 2002, Bouvron was placed in the Singapore Sports Council's Athletes Career and Training Programme.[6]
When South Korea hosted the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Bouvron came in sixth in the 100 m butterfly, and eighth in the 200 m butterfly (2:17.42).[10][11]
While studying at the University of Notre Dame, Bouvron trained for the Fighting Irish, the athlete team for the university.[4]
In 2003, Bouvron won a total of two medals in the same stroke at the 2003 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam. Out of four tries in swimming, she only captured a gold in the 200 m butterfly final with a decisive time of 2:17.72, touching out Philippines' Maria Gandionco by more than two seconds.[12]
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Bouvron shortened her program by competing only in the 200 m butterfly. After winning her first gold from SEA Games, her seed time of 2:17.72 was officially confirmed and placed under a FINA B-standard.[13][14] Bouvron participated in the first of four heats against seven other swimmers, including 15-year-old Maria Bulakhova. She rounded out a field to last place with a slowest time of 2:26.21, nearly nine seconds off her personal best and nearly 14 seconds behind winner Bulakhova. Bouvron failed to advance into the semi-finals, as she placed thirty-second overall in the preliminaries.[14][15][16] Singapore Swimming Association reported that she had breathing difficulties and a runny nose during the race.[6]
In March 2005, Bouvron last competed at National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships and did not submit any times for the 2005 SEA Games.[6] In July, while back in Singapore, Bouvron announced her intention to quit.[6]
Personal life
After the 2004 Summer Olympics when Bouvron reported to have breathing difficulties and a runny nose during 200m butterfly event, she was diagnosed with asthma.[6]
