The Paris 2024 Olympic triathlon champion and a former World Champion, Cassandre Beaugrand is one of short-course triathlon’s brightest stars.

Having graced ITU events with her effortless style since 2012 as a Youth, the French athlete soon established herself as a shining light of triathlon in her home country.

Born in Livry-Gargan in May 1997, Beaugrand was immersed in sport from an early age, with her mother a runner and her father coaching at her hometown athletics club. After dabbling in several athletic disciplines, including pole vaulting, she settled on triathlon as she combined her passion for both swimming and running.

Though she had begun her journey in triathlon on the ITU circuit by 2012, Beaugrand was crowned the French 2013 and 2014 Youth Champion in cross country, setting new national records in her age group for both 1500m and 10km.

Her drive to succeed in triathlon was unwavering however, as she punched well above her weight as a teenager in both relay and individual events, landing her first individual gold medal at the Junior European Cup event at Eton Dorney in 2013.

Such was her electrifying pace, she began participating in elite senior events, finishing second at the Sprint Triathlon European Cup in Bratislava just days before her 17th birthday.

Career record and results

Beaugrand has been consistently successful both as an individual and in relay events, a format at which the French team have excelled in recent years.

Cassandre was part of the French team which clinched silver at the Mixed Relay World Championships back in 2014. Two months on, she claimed victory in the French Sprint Triathlon National Championships and was also the silver medallist at the World Junior Triathlon Championship during that very successful 2014 season.

Beaugrand won the European Junior Championship in 2016, the same year in which she took bronze at senior level at the European Sprint Distance Championships behind the British duo of Lucy Hall and Jess Learmonth.

Cassandre triumphed at the French Triathlon National Championships in 2017, and the following year she further asserted her dominance in her home country as she claimed the Sprint Triathlon National Championships.

Her maiden World Triathlon Series win came a few months on from that success as she edged out Laura Lindemann in Hamburg. Victory with France in the Mixed Relay World Championships made it two wins in two days in Germany. More success would follow at European Championship level just weeks later in Glasgow – another Mixed Relay gold alongside a bronze in the individual race at Strathclyde Park.

Team France were victorious Mixed Relay World Championship winners in both 2019 and 2020 too, with Beaugrand an ever-present in their sensational three-peat. 2022 saw Les Bleus continue their stranglehold over the MTR format, with Cassandre once again part of the squads which claimed European and World Championship gold medals.

2019 brought further World Triathlon Series podiums, in addition to a win at the Tokyo Olympic Qualification Event Mixed Relay.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics (delayed until 2021) were a bittersweet affair for Beaugrand. A DNF in the individual event was not what she went there for, but a bronze in the mixed team relay meant she didn’t return home empty handed.

2022 saw Beaugrand finish the season 5th in the WTCS rankings, along the way earning a dominant win in Leeds and a second place to Georgia Taylor-Brown in Montreal. In 2023, Beaugrand again showed her class, qualifying for her third Olympic Games with a mesmerising performance at the Paris Olympic Test Event which was bested only by Great Britain’s Beth Potter. This was the start of many-a Potter vs Beaugrand battle royale, and in the WTCS rankings it was the former who pipped the latter to the top spot.

Coming into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Cassandre Beaugrand and Beth Potter were the favourites to take the win. The hotly anticipated battle was even more excited than anticipated, with Beaugrand, Potter, Julie Derron and Emma Lombardi fighting until the very end for the top spots. It was Beaugrand who would reign victorious, taking the Olympic gold.

2024 was a stellar year for the French star, with her Olympic title backed up by the overall WTCS World title to boot.

Beaugrand has also been a dominant force on the supertri race circuit, with multiple wins over the fast and furious race format.

Cassandre Beaugrand at the Olympics

While still a teenager, Beaugrand made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, coming home in 30th place in the Individual women’s race.

In the years between then and the Tokyo Olympics, Cassandre developed and matured as an athlete, and she headed to the event in Japan as a contender for a top-end finish. However, she would be left frustrated in the individual race as a puncture saw her unable to finish, having endured already endured a sub-par swim leg by her lofty standards.

Her fortunes would change in the inaugural Mixed Relay event though as she helped the French team – also featuring Dorian Coninx, Léonie Périault and Vincent Luis – to a memorable bronze medal.

Paris 2024 would bring redemption – and an Olympic title – for Beaugrand.

Cassandre Beaugrand and family

Cassandre’s father Ludovic coached at Livry-Gargan Athletics Club while she was finding her feet in competitive sport, and he has had a hand in coaching her during her professional triathlon career.

Her mother, who was a middle-distance runner, has also played a key role in her journey to the pinnacle of triathlon racing.

Cassandre Beaugrand gear

Beaugrand was previously sponsored by Polar, a provider of high-quality fitness trackers, GPS sports watches and bike computers. In 2020, she was part of the unveiling of the Polar Vantage V2, one of the brand’s most premium watches, alongside Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas. More recently she has been sporting the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro GPS watch.

Cassandre’s bike sponsor is Specialized, with Adidas as her apparel and footwear sponsor and Oakley as her sunglasses sponsor.