13 Facts About Florian Rousseau

Florian Rousseau was born on 3 February 1974 and is a former French track cyclist who won three gold medals and one silver at the Summer Olympics.

Florian Rousseau was popular among spectators for the facial expressions he pulled - many of them seeming to make his eyes bulge - to help him concentrate at the start of races.

Florian Rousseau began as a soccer player but, seeing no future in team sports, switched to cycling.

Florian Rousseau showed early talent on the track and joined the national sports institute, INSEP, in western Paris in 1990.

Florian Rousseau won the world junior kilometre championship in 1992 and the world senior championship in 1993 and 1994.

Florian Rousseau won the kilometre at Atlanta but dropped the discipline to become a sprinter.

Florian Rousseau was trained by Gerard Quintyn and won the world sprint championship in 1996 to 1998.

Florian Rousseau won three Olympic gold medals and a silver.

Florian Rousseau was world team sprint champion in 1997 and 1998 and won the national sprint championship 17 times.

Florian Rousseau was the national sprint coach at INSEP, in western Paris.

Florian Rousseau resigned shortly after the 2013 Cycling World Championships in Minsk.

Florian Rousseau was appointed as the inaugural president of the UCI Athletes' Commission in 2011.

Florian Rousseau is married to Sonia, and a scuba-diver in his spare time, particularly in the Caribbean and off Australia.