Franziska van Almsick Discusses Her Special Friendship with Princess Charlène

Franziska van Almsick, a former top swimmer from Germany, is passionately committed to improving children's swimming education through her foundation. In a recent interview with "Gala," she emphasized the importance of ensuring that children obtain their swimming badges, such as the Seepferdchen, before starting school. She pointed to alarming statistics, noting that there were 99 swimming accidents reported in just June alone.

Van Almsick on Her Partnership with Princess Charlène of Monaco

Through her foundation, van Almsick advocates for increased access to swimming facilities for children. She also supports the Desjoyaux-Pool-School, which offers free swimming lessons at 13 locations.

She commends these initiatives, making it clear that every new swimming facility contributes to ensuring children can learn to swim safely before any dangers arise.

"We Can Learn a Lot from Each Other"

Van Almsick places particular emphasis on her collaboration with her friend and fellow swimmer, Princess Charlène of Monaco. Their close friendship, which began during their shared careers as competitive swimmers, has evolved into a joint mission: to provide safe swimming education to more children worldwide.

Van Almsick Praises Charlène's Passion

While Charlène focuses on her international foundation for swimming schools, van Almsick concentrates her efforts in Germany. "We can learn a lot from each other," van Almsick states, expressing admiration for Charlène's dedication to ensuring children around the globe have access to safe swimming instruction.

For van Almsick, swimming remains a deeply personal cause. She feels it is her responsibility to educate both children and parents about the importance of swimming skills, especially in a country like Germany, which boasts numerous water bodies. "We need to stop waiting until after swimming accidents to talk about swimming," she insists.