William Meynard, French 2013 world champion in the 4×100 freestyle, was arrested by Brazilian police on Sunday in downtown Rio de Janeiro, for possession of cannabis and then trying to bribe the police.
A policeman himself, Meynard offered cash to be released by the police, thinking it was custom in Brazil.
In his testimony, the French admitted that he had used drugs with two strangers before being approached by the police. And admitted that he offered money to the police.
Meynard’s best individual result is a bronze medal in the 100 meter freestyle (48.00) at the Shanghai 2011 World Championships, then winning also silver in the 4×100 freestyle. Last year, after a great French championships, Meynard didn’t perform that well at the Barcelona 2013 World Championships. He finished 19th in the 100 freestyle (49.59) and swam only in the prelims for the 4×100 free team that ended up winning gold in the final.
This year, he has taken more or less a break from competitive swimming, competing only in the 50 free at the French Championships in April, where he ended up 18th with a time of 23.74.
See for instance Ouest France and Tempo News and SporTV
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