Christel Bouvron

Christel Bouvron
Personal information
Full nameChristel Bouvron Mei Yen
National team Singapore
Born (1984-10-01) 1 October 1984
Singapore
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, butterfly
College teamUniversity of Notre Dame (U.S.)
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing Singapore
Southeast Asian Games
2003 Hanoi 200 m butterfly
1999 Brunei Darussalam 400m freestyle
1999 Brunei Darussalam 4 x 100m freestyle
2003 Hanoi 400m freestyle
2003 Hanoi 100 m butterfly

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.

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 4x100m 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]

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Christel Bouvron". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  2. ^ Miller, Brian (14 October 1997). "Christel makes her cut". The New Paper. p. 41.
  3. ^ "SPEECH BY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR HO PENG KEE, MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND HOME AFFAIRS AT THE 31ST SCHOOLS COLOURS AWARD PRESENTATION CEREMONY TO BE HELD AT THE NATIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE AT 1000 HOURS ON SATURDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2001". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Christel Bouvron Wins Another Gold Medal In Southeast Asian Games". Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  5. ^ "Christel will train and study in US". The Straits Times. 21 May 2002. p. A10.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Chan, Yi Shen (29 July 2005). "Bouvron, 21, calls it a day for something new". The Straits Times. p. H16.
  7. ^ a b "The next big star?". The New Paper. 10 August 1999. p. 39. Retrieved 19 March 2026 – via NewspaperSG.
  8. ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Women's 400m Freestyle Heat 1" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 189. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Women's 200m Butterfly Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 232. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  10. ^ "Japan Takes Four of Five Events on Day One of Asian Games". Swimming World. 30 September 2002. Retrieved 30 April 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ^ "Japan's Kitajima Breaks Barrowman's 200m Breaststroke World Record; Cracks 2:10 Barrier". Swimming World. 2 October 2002. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  12. ^ "Medals Shared on Final Day of Southeast Asian Games". Swimming World. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 30 April 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ^ "Swimming – Women's 200m Butterfly Startlist (Heat 1)". Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Christel Bouvron Swims 200 Butterfly in Athens Olympics". Notre Dame Athletics. 13 August 2004. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  15. ^ "Women's 200m Butterfly Heat 1". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 17 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  16. ^ Thomas, Stephen (17 August 2004). "Women's 200 Butterfly Prelims, Day 4: Jedrzejczak Fastest. Nakanishi, Risztov, Sandeno and Thomas All Qualify". Swimming World. Archived from the original on 3 December 2005. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
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