A new swimming star is coming to American shores. It was announced this morning that 19-year-old Laure Manaudou of France will be enrolling in an American University next fall. The native of Villeurbanne, who struck gold in the 400m freestyle at the 2004 Olympics and 2005 World Championships in Montreal has applied for and received a two years of collegiate eligibility.

“Whenever someone of Ms. Manaudou’s stature shows up on the collegiate swimming scene, it raises a red flag,” explained one NCAA official familiar with the case. The Frenchwoman went through the process of the international eligibility clearinghouse and had her application further evaluated by the NCAA Division I Agents and Amateurism Subcommittee of the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet. Documentation provided by Ms. Manadou and the Federation Francaise de Natation (FFN) showed that any an all monies received over the past were merely to cover her travel and entry expenses.

Following next week’s World Championships in Beijing, Manaudou, along with her coach Philippe Lucas, will arrive on American shores to visit several institutions. It is a prospect that has several coaches salivating.

“She has the ability to dominate the NCAA’s in a way that no swimmer has,” noted one SEC coach in an e-mail, “You will see every school – us included – pull out all the stops to get her.” SEC schools have enjoyed tremendous success with French swimmers in recent years. This year Georgia's Sébastien Rouault won the 1650 freestyle. Last year, Auburn's Fred Bosquet became the first man to break the 19.0 mark in the 50 freestyle.

In an e-mailed statement to the FFN, Manaudou offered a rationale for her decision. In it, she expressed a concern following the recent rioting undertaken by French youth. In it, she explained, “Cet article est complètement faux. le jour heureux d'imbécile d'avril est arrivee.” or, “I cannot compete in this environment.”

Actually, it really says, "This article is completely false - Happy April Fools Day."