# Christine Caron
**Christine "Kiki" Caron** (born 1948 in Paris) is a French former competitive swimmer who specialized in backstroke, won the silver medal in the 100 m backstroke at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, and set a world record in that event in June 1964.[1](https://www.equipe-france.fr/natation/christine-caron) • [2](https://www.worldaquatics.com/athletes/1154571/christine-kiki-caron) • [3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) She became one of the most famous French athletes of the 1960s and was the first woman to carry the French flag at an Olympic opening ceremony.[4](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1948, Paris, France[1](https://www.equipe-france.fr/natation/christine-caron) |
| Olympic medal | Silver, women's 100 m backstroke, Tokyo 1964, in 1:07.90 at age 16[2](https://www.worldaquatics.com/athletes/1154571/christine-kiki-caron) |
| World record | Broke the world 100 m backstroke record on 14 June 1964 in Paris, taking it from the United States' Dona deVarona[3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) |
| European records | Set 100 m and 200 m backstroke European records; first at age 14[3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) • [4](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html) |
| National titles | 14 French National Championships in a 7-year period, in 100 m and 200 m backstroke and butterfly[3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) |
| Flag-bearer | First French woman to lead her delegation at an Olympic opening ceremony, Mexico City 1968[4](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html) |
| Hall of Fame | Inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1998[5](https://www.dicolympique.fr/caron-christine-1948-france-natation/) |
## Early career and records
Caron grew up in Montrouge, a Paris suburb, and trained under coach Suzanne Berlioux, who she later described as being like a second mother.[4](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html) • [6](https://www.ffnatation.fr/actualites/actu-grand-public/ne-jamais-baisser-les-bras) At 14 she recorded her first European records in backstroke, her specialty.[4](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html) Over her career she won 14 French National Championships within a 7-year period and set French national records in both backstroke and butterfly at 100 m and 200 m.[3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/)
**World record.** On 14 June 1964 in Paris, Caron broke the world 100 m backstroke record held by the American Dona deVarona; [Le Monde](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-monde) later gave her time as 1'8"6.[3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) • [4](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html) The Fair Play archive records that in 1964 she set world records at 100 m backstroke in both short-course and long-course pools, and that her first European record came in 1963, with 8 European records at 100 m backstroke and 5 at 200 m backstroke across short-course and long-course pools.[7](https://fairplayamericas.org/archive/articles/award-534-christine-caron-2010/) By the time of the Tokyo Games she had been deprived of the world record on the distance, but she still figured among the favorites.[4](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html)
## Tokyo 1964
In the Olympic final in October 1964, Caron finished second behind the American Cathy Ferguson, with Ferguson, Caron, and Ginny Duenkel touching one-two-three within three-tenths of a second of each other; her time of 1:07.90 was 0.2 seconds behind Ferguson's winning 1:07.70.[3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) • [8](https://resources.fina.org/fina/document/2024/07/27/ea5eac35-14d3-4e18-b68c-cb8aff52f1f3/AQUA_SWIMMING-STATS_Olympic-Games_Full.pdf) The Fair Play account notes that Ferguson had to swim at world-record level to overtake Caron by two tenths of a second.[7](https://fairplayamericas.org/archive/articles/award-534-christine-caron-2010/) There was no women's 200 m backstroke event at those Games.[3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/)
The race was also a technical landmark: it was the first official use of electronic timing touch pads to determine race results in Olympic competition.[3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) Caron was the only French swimming medalist at the Games, and on her return a crowd awaited her at Orly airport.[6](https://www.ffnatation.fr/actualites/actu-grand-public/ne-jamais-baisser-les-bras) • [9](https://www.equipedefrance.com/athlete/christine-caron) In the Japanese press and public she became one of the most popular figures of the Olympic village, idolized like a star.[7](https://fairplayamericas.org/archive/articles/award-534-christine-caron-2010/) The French writer Antoine Blondin crowned her "France's little fiancée" after the silver medal.[10](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/08/05/paris-olympics-leon-marchand-swept-france-off-its-feet_6709640_9.html)
## Post-Tokyo competition
In 1965 Caron won the 100 m backstroke at the U.S. National Championships, beating the Olympic champion Ferguson; her coach believed that a slight cold had kept her from breaking the world record there.[3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) • [11](https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1965/08/17/les-championnats-des-etats-unis-ont-revele-une-nouvelle-generation-de-nageurs-cinq-records-du-monde-battus-christine-caron-gagne-le-100-m-dos_3068840_1819218.html) She was the first Frenchwoman to become United States champion, and she also won the 100 m backstroke national championships of Australia and Mexico.[6](https://www.ffnatation.fr/actualites/actu-grand-public/ne-jamais-baisser-les-bras) • [3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) In 1966 she won the European title at 100 m backstroke.[3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/)
## Mexico City 1968 and retirement
Caron competed at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where she was eliminated in the heats of the 200 m backstroke and in the semifinals of the 100 m backstroke, and then retired from competition.[2](https://www.worldaquatics.com/athletes/1154571/christine-kiki-caron) • [4](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html) Her lasting mark from those Games came before she swam a race: she led the French delegation as flag-bearer in the opening ceremony, the first French woman to do so.[4](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html) • [3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) She later recalled that the next French woman honored in this way was not chosen until Marie-José Pérec in 1996, followed by Laura Flessel in 2012.[6](https://www.ffnatation.fr/actualites/actu-grand-public/ne-jamais-baisser-les-bras)
## Celebrity and life after swimming
**A 1960s icon.** Nicknamed "Kiki" by the sports press, Caron became a star of the French 1960s on the scale of youth idols such as Sheila, Sylvie Vartan, and [Françoise Hardy](https://www.edgepedia.org/francoise-hardy), and she was probably the most photographed of all French athletes.[12](https://sportloiret.fr/2026/01/21/le-long-chemin-des-championnes-olympiques-entre-misogynie-et-mepris/) • [3](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/) She was among the first French sportswomen to appear on magazine covers outside a purely sporting context, and she later described herself as France's first "people" sportswoman.[6](https://www.ffnatation.fr/actualites/actu-grand-public/ne-jamais-baisser-les-bras) • [9](https://www.equipedefrance.com/athlete/christine-caron)
After retiring she recorded a record with songs written by Antoine and Pascal Sevran, appeared in the Italian film *Le lys de mer*, worked in fashion shows and public relations, and competed in rallies including the Atlas Rally, the Dakar, and circuits at Spa and [Le Mans](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-mans).[6](https://www.ffnatation.fr/actualites/actu-grand-public/ne-jamais-baisser-les-bras) From the early 1980s she lent her name to a private-pool concept developed with a Nantes company; pools were baptized "Christine Caron", and the association lasted about thirty years until her retirement.[4](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html) • [6](https://www.ffnatation.fr/actualites/actu-grand-public/ne-jamais-baisser-les-bras) In 2006 she published an autobiography titled *Kiki* with a preface by the singer [Johnny Hallyday](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-hallyday).[5](https://www.dicolympique.fr/caron-christine-1948-france-natation/)
**Recognition.** She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1998[5](https://www.dicolympique.fr/caron-christine-1948-france-natation/) and received a career diploma at the 2010 World Fair Play Awards; the award story highlights that on the Tokyo podium the silver medalist spontaneously took the hand of the gold medalist Ferguson to comfort her as she cried with emotion.[7](https://fairplayamericas.org/archive/articles/award-534-christine-caron-2010/) She has no family relationship with the French swimmer Stephan Caron.[5](https://www.dicolympique.fr/caron-christine-1948-france-natation/)
## References
1. [Christine Caron, Équipe-France](https://www.equipe-france.fr/natation/christine-caron)
2. [Christine Kiki CARON, World Aquatics](https://www.worldaquatics.com/athletes/1154571/christine-kiki-caron)
3. [Christine "Kiki" Caron, International Swimming Hall of Fame](https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-christine-kiki-caron/)
4. [On a retrouvé « Kiki » Caron, l'icône des bassins, Le Monde (2016)](https://www.lemonde.fr/natation/article/2016/09/30/on-a-retrouve-kiki-caron-l-icone-des-bassins_5006270_1616665.html)
5. [CARON Christine (1948) France / Natation, DICOLYMPIQUE](https://www.dicolympique.fr/caron-christine-1948-france-natation/)
6. [« Ne jamais baisser les bras », Fédération Française de Natation](https://www.ffnatation.fr/actualites/actu-grand-public/ne-jamais-baisser-les-bras)
7. [Christine Caron, World Fair Play Award Archive, Fair Play Americas](https://fairplayamericas.org/archive/articles/award-534-christine-caron-2010/)
8. [Swimming Medallists and Statistics at the Olympic Games, World Aquatics](https://resources.fina.org/fina/document/2024/07/27/ea5eac35-14d3-4e18-b68c-cb8aff52f1f3/AQUA_SWIMMING-STATS_Olympic-Games_Full.pdf)
9. [Christine Caron, Équipe de France](https://www.equipedefrance.com/athlete/christine-caron)
10. [Paris Olympics: Léon Marchand swept France off its feet, Le Monde (2024)](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/08/05/paris-olympics-leon-marchand-swept-france-off-its-feet_6709640_9.html)
11. [Christine Caron gagne le 100 m dos, Le Monde archives (17 August 1965)](https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1965/08/17/les-championnats-des-etats-unis-ont-revele-une-nouvelle-generation-de-nageurs-cinq-records-du-monde-battus-christine-caron-gagne-le-100-m-dos_3068840_1819218.html)
12. [Le long chemin des championnes olympiques, CDOS du Loiret](https://sportloiret.fr/2026/01/21/le-long-chemin-des-championnes-olympiques-entre-misogynie-et-mepris/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Water sports › Swimmers (biographies and medalists) › Backstroke swimmers › French backstroke swimmers*
*Initially written Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license