Yannick Agnel won two Olympic gold medals in swimming for France at the 2012 Summer Games in London.
Published on January 15, 2026
French double Olympic swimming gold medalist Yannick Agnel will stand trial on charges of raping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl after his appeal was rejected on Thursday.
In May, the Frenchman’s lawyers appealed the decision for the 33-year-old to face the charges, but an appeals court in Colmar, northeast France, rejected the claim and ordered the trial to go ahead.
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Agnel, who won two gold medals at the 2012 London Games, is suspected of having an affair with a 13-year-old girl in 2016.
Agnel has always insisted that the relationship was consensual and loving.
According to prosecutors, the incidents took place between December 31, 2015 and August 31, 2016, in various locations including Mulhouse, Thailand and Tenerife.
The investigation led to the swimmer being charged five months later in December 2021.
Agnel has always denied that he had control over the teenager.
Edwige Roux-Morizot, the public prosecutor at the time, considered that “the fact of rape and sexual assault because of the age difference is because the justice system feels that there is real moral pressure”.
In July 2024, the swimmer, who retired in 2016, attended a meeting with his accuser, now in her early 20s, as he had requested.
Agnel rose to international prominence at the 2010 European Championships when he won gold in the 400 m freestyle, setting a new French and championship record.
Two years later, he won gold in the 200 m freestyle and 4×100 m freestyle relay, as well as silver in the 4×200 m freestyle relay at the London Olympics.
He won gold medals in the same two events at the 2013 World Championships.
Agnel qualified to defend his 200 m freestyle title for the 2016 Rio Olympics but failed to qualify in the heats and soon announced his retirement from swimming.