Team France - Profile

Highlights:

The homeland of the founder of the Olympic movement Pierre de Coubertin, France has competed at every edition of the summer Olympic Games since 1896. Paris will play host for a third time in 2024, having previously held the Games in 1900 and 1924.

French athletes have seen more Olympic success in fencing than any other sport. Christian d'Oriola won four gold medals and two silver medals in men's foil between 1948 and 1956, while Lucien Gaudin claimed four medals in foil [two gold, two silver] and two in epee [both gold] from 1920 to 1928. No other French athlete from any sport can match their total of four gold medals. Fencers Philippe Cattiau and Roger Ducret share the French record for highest overall total of Olympic medals with eight each [both athletes have three gold, four silver and one bronze]. Cattiau secured his medals in individual foil and epee events over five Games between 1920 and 1936, while Ducret won five of his eight at just the 1924 Games, including all three of his gold. French male fencers have fared well in the team competitions at more recent editions of the Games, claiming gold in team foil at Sydney 2000 and in team sabre at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. The French men's epee team also won gold in 2004, 2008, and 2016.

French cyclists have secured numerous podium finishes at the Olympic Games. Track cyclist Daniel Morelon has a total of five medals at the Games, which includes back-to-back gold in men's sprint in 1968 and 1972, while Florian Rousseau won the 1km time trial on the track at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and then secured gold in keirin and team sprint, as well as silver in sprint, four years later in Sydney. Felicia Ballanger is France's most successful female track cyclist, claiming a total of three gold medals across the 1996 and 2000 Games. France's most recent medal in road cycling came at the 2000 Games in Sydney, where Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli claimed bronze in the women's individual time trial. Four years earlier Longo-Ciprelli had won gold in the road race and silver in the individual time trial.

Track athlete Marie-Jose Perec has three Olympic gold medals, winning back-to-back 400m titles in 1992 and 1996. She also claimed victory in the 200m at Atlanta 1996. Pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie won France's most recent Olympic gold in athletics at the 2012 Games in London, but he had to settle for silver four years later in Rio de Janeiro.

Other notable results in recent years include gold medals for slalom paddler Tony Estanguet in 2000, 2004, and 2012. He then became an IOC member in 2013. Ten-time world champion judoka Teddy Riner won Olympic gold in 2012 and 2016 to go with a bronze medal from Beijing in 2008.

Additional Information: Website
https://www.franceolympique.com

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/franceolympique

Anthem Title: La Marseillaise [The Song of Marseille]

Anthem Composer: Words and music by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle.

Anthem Inducted: 1795

Official NOC Name: Comite National Olympique et Sportif Francais

Founding Date: 1894

IOC Recognition Date: 1894

Delegation President: Brigitte Henriques

Delegation Secretary General: Didier Seminet

IOC Members: Guy Drut [entry in the IOC: 1996], Tony Estanguet [entry in the IOC: 2013], Jean-Christophe Rolland [entry in the IOC: 2017], Jean-Claude Killy [entry in the IOC: 1995]

First OG/PG Appearance: 1896

Number OG/PG Appearances: 29 [Tokyo 2020 included]

Summary: