Fencer Laura Flessel began fencing at age six and quickly became a very talented fencer. She progressed quickly and became champion of Guadeloupe. Then, she gained solid experience on the Caribbean, Central American and Pan American circuits, winning in 1990 the Pan American Championships in foil and épée. The same year, she joined the metropolis, to train with the
Racing Club de France. She also trains within the
INSEP, which allows her to face the best French fencers. She won her first world stage success in 1995, finishing in third place at the
Hague World Championships. This bronze medal is accompanied by a silver medal in the team event, which was defeated 45 to 44 by
Hungary. Her teammates were
Valérie Barlois,
Sophie Moressee and
Sangita Tripathi. After her gold medal at the
1996 Summer Olympics and her victory at
1998 World Cup, she became the eighth French fencer, and first woman, to win the Olympic and World Champion titles. She is one of the favorites for the
2000 Summer Olympics title. She finally fails in the semi-final against
Timea Nagy. At the
2006 World Championships in Turin, she gets a new individual bronze medal, beaten again by
Timea Nagy The
2008 Summer Olympics, her fourth Olympic Games, marks a turning point as it is the first Olympics where she does not get a medal after being eliminated by
Li Na (15-9) in the quarter-finals. The year 2009 sees again Laura Flessel at the top but still without success with a third place at the
European Championships in
Plovdiv and a failure at the
World Championships in
Antalya where she lost f in quarter final against
Lyubov Shutova after a close match that ends in sudden death on the score of 7 to 8. On 21 April 2012, she qualifies for the
individual event of the
London Olympics by defeating
Emma Samuelsson in the semifinals of the European Zone Qualifying Championship in
Bratislava. On 14 May 2012, Laura Flessel is officially designated
flag bearer of the French delegation for the
London Olympics. In her final competition, she defeated
Courtney Hurley (15-12) before losing to
Simona Gherman (No. 4 worldwide) 15–13. She ends her career at the age of 40.
Doping offense Laura Flessel was banned for three months in 2002 after failing a doping test. She tested positive for the banned substance coramine glucose, blaming the French team doctors for giving her a drug that is available over the counter in France.
Sports management In 2012, she took over the management of
Nathalie Moellhausen, a native of Italy and competing under the colors of Brazil, forming a group also composed of two fencing masters,
Daniel Levavasseur and
Michel Sicard, the latter having both coached Flessel. ==Sports consultant and other activities==