Suzanne Berlioux, a pioneer in swimming training (1930s–1960s)

Suzanne Berlioux (1898–1984) is the epitome of a self-taught swimming coach. She managed to carve out an increasingly remarkable place for herself at the edge of the pools, which was populated almost exclusively by male coaches. Her coaching career began in the late 1920s and lasted until 1972. Her exceptional longevity is, without doubt, owing to her different successes with different French female swimmers, almost all of them backstroke specialists. Because of her pragmatism, common sense, and proximity to her pupils, Suzanne Berlioux acquired a reputation and even notoriety, which translated to media recognition during the 1960s, especially after the successes of Christine Caron, her well-known protégé. But this should not let us forget how many difficulties this coach had to overcome to exist in a masculine and sometimes hostile environment.