Bernard Is Back: World Cup Tour Beckons
2008-09-16
Craig Lord
Stockholm and Berlin rounds of the cup will get the French sprinter off his blocks for the new race season

Alain Bernard, Olympic 100m freestyle champion, will race at two of the European rounds of the FINA World Cup series in November. His first outing since Beijing will be in Stockholm on November 11, while racing in Berlin will follow four days later. There is no confirmation yet as to whether Bernard will compete in the European s/c championships in Croatia the week after the French nationals from December 5 to 7. 

The 25-year-old is scheduled to return to training at his base in Antibes, southeastern France, at the end of the month. Beyond the 100m gold, which made Bernard the first French swimmer in 56 years to win Olympic gold in the pool, he also won silver in the 4x100m relay, pipped at the touch by Jason Lezak, the American who helped Michael Phelps dodge the bullet, and bronze in the 50m behind Brazilian champion Cesar Cielo.