France at the 1896 Summer Olympics
France at the Olympic Games | ||||||||||||
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At the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 13 in 6 sports | |||||||||||
Medals Rank: 4 |
Gold 5 |
Silver 4 |
Bronze 2 |
Total 11 |
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Olympic history (summary) | ||||||||||||
Summer Games | ||||||||||||
Winter Games | ||||||||||||
Intercalated Games | ||||||||||||
1906 |
Thirteen athletes from France competed in six sports at the 1896 Summer Olympics. France won the fourth-most gold medals with 5 and the fourth-most total medals with 11. Cycling was the sport in which the French competitors had the most success, as they completely dominated the field. The French team had 27 entries in 18 events, winning 11 medals.
Contents
Medalists
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Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
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Gold | Paul Masson | Cycling | Men's 10 km | April 11 |
Men's time trial | April 11 | |||
Men's sprint | April 11 | |||
Gold | Léon Flameng | Cycling | Men's 100 km | April 8 |
Gold | Eugène-Henri Gravelotte | Fencing | Men's foil | April 7 |
Silver | Alexandre Tuffère | Athletics | Men's triple jump | April 6 |
Silver | Léon Flameng | Cycling | Men's 10 km | April 11 |
Silver | Henri Callot | Fencing | Men's foil | April 7 |
Silver | Joanni Perronet | Fencing | Men's masters foil | April 7 |
Bronze | Albin Lermusiaux | Athletics | Men's 1500 m | April 7 |
Bronze | Léon Flameng | Cycling | Men's sprint | April 11 |
Results by event
Athletics
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France's six athletes won two medals in athletics.
Event | Place | Athlete | Heat | Final |
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100 metres | – | Alphonse Grisel | Unknown | Did not advance |
400 metres | – | Alphonse Grisel | Unknown | Did not advance |
Frantz Reichel | Unknown | |||
800 metres | – | Albin Lermusiaux | 2:16.6 | Did not start |
– | Georges de la Nézière | Unknown | Did not advance | |
1500 metres | 3rd | Albin Lermusiaux | No heats | 4:37.0 |
110 metre hurdles | – | Frantz Reichel | Unknown | Did not start |
Marathon | 9th | Sokratis Lagoudakis | No heats | Unknown |
– | Albin Lermusaiux | Did not finish | ||
Event | Place | Athlete | Best mark |
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Long jump | – | Alphonse Grisel | Unknown |
Alexandre Tuffèri | Unknown | ||
Triple jump | 2nd | Alexandre Tuffèri | 12.70 metres |
Discus throw | – | Alphonse Grisel | Unknown |
Cycling
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France dominated the cycling events, taking 4 of the 6 gold medals. Three were won by Paul Masson who won every event he entered, with Léon Flameng adding the fourth as well as a silver and a bronze. One of the two won each event that a Frenchman contested; the two gold medals won by other countries were in competitions that Masson and Flameng did not enter.
Event | Place | Cyclist | Time/Distance |
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333 metres | 1st | Paul Masson | 24.0 seconds |
5th | Léon Flameng | 27.0 seconds | |
Sprint | 1st | Paul Masson | 4:58.2 |
3rd | Léon Flameng | Unknown | |
10 kilometres | 1st | Paul Masson | 17:54.2 |
2nd | Léon Flameng | 17:54.8 | |
100 kilometres | 1st | Léon Flameng | 3:08:19.2 |
Fencing
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The French fencers were held in high regard prior to the Games; Gravelotte and Callot validated those expectations in the amateur foil competition. Each went undefeated in their pool, advancing to face each other in the final. Gravelotte won the first-to-3 bout. Surprisingly, however, Perronet lost to the Greek Leonidas Pyrgos in the only match of the masters competition.
Event | Place | Fencer | Record | Touches | Round-robin | Final | ||
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Wins | Losses | For | Against | |||||
Foil | 1st | Eugène-Henri Gravelotte | 4 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 1st Group B |
Won 3-2 |
2nd | Henri Callot | 3 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 1st Group A |
Lost 3-2 |
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5th | Henri Delaborde | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 3rd Group A |
Did not advance |
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Masters foil | 2nd | Jean Maurice Perronet | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | None held | Lost 3-1 |
Opponent nation | Wins | Losses | Percent |
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Greece | 6 | 2 | .750 |
Total international | 6 | 2 | .750 |
France | 2 | 2 | .500 |
Total | 8 | 4 | .667 |
Gymnastics
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Grisel competed in the parallel bars in the gymnastics program. The competitions had no formal scoring, the judges merely selecting the winner and runner-up. Grisel was neither in his competition.
Event | Place | Gymnast |
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Parallel bars | – | Alphonse Grisel |
Shooting
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Lermusiaux entered the military rifle event in the shooting program. His score and placing are unknown.
Event | Place | Shooter | Score | Hits |
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Military rifle | – | Albin Lermusiaux | Unknown | |
Tennis
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Only the last name of the French tennis player in 1896 is known. He was defeated in the first round of the singles tournament.
Event | Place | Player(s) | Round 1 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final |
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Singles | 8th | Defert | Lost | Did not advance | ||
Opponent nation | Wins | Losses | Percent |
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Greece | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Total | 0 | 1 | .000 |