Nude photos and sex video tape of French olympics swimmer Laure Manaudou who is competing in the Beijing Olympics are making headlines again as the games in Beijing intensified. These nude photos aren’t exactly new in fact they surfaced online in December 2007.

more photos after the jump…  

Manaudou, the French Mermaid took the 400m freestyle gold in Athens four years ago, she was just 17 then.  Today, an internet search of her name throws up hits like “Laure Manaudou naked pictures” and “Laure Manaudou sex video 100% authentic” before it gets around to directing surfers to information about her swimming career.

Two years ago, Laure fell in love with Italian swimmer Luca Marin. Marin come fifth to Michael Phelps of the US in the 400m individual medley on last Sunday.

Laure said while they were dating that “Between Italy and France,” she declared, “I have chosen Luca Marin, the love of my life. I want to live with him and have a baby.”

Within months, the romance had taken a turn for the worse. The Turin club expelled her for what they deemed a lazy attitude, and by the time the European short-course championships came around in Hungary last December, the golden couple appeared to be rapidly oxidising.

Photos of Federica Pellegrini: PR Photos

Matters came to a head when Manaudou threw the ring Marin had given her into the pool, and formally broke off their relationship when he followed her into the changing room. Within hours nude photos and a private video of Manaudou surfaced on the internet. Marin denied having anything to do with the photos. He had looked at them “like everyone else”, he said gallantly, but it was “ridiculous to think it was me who put them there”.

 The soap opera took yet another turn when Federica Pellegrini - who had broken Manaudou’s world record in the semi-finals of a meet in Melbourne that year - began a romantic relationship with Laure’s ex, Marin. Yesterday Pellegrini set a new Olympic record in the 400m free, so she and Manaudou will meet in the final. “The woman to beat, the woman to follow is Federica,” says  Manaudou. She is indeed very humbe.

A little scandal spices things up in Beijing. Hopefully not at the expense of the gifted athletes though.

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