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France at the Olympics
The modern Olympic Games were founded by French historian Pierre de Coubertin. France has competed in every edition (both Summer and Winter), with the possible exception of the 1904 Games (as sources disagree about whether athlete Albert Corey competed for the United States or France[1][2]). Through the Paris 2024 Games, French athletes had won 815 medals at the Summer Olympic Games in a wide variety of sports, achieving particular success in fencing and cycling. France has won an additional 138 medals at the Winter Olympic Games, notably in alpine skiing. The record for titles at the Olympic Games is held by biathlete Martin Fourcade with five gold medals at the Winter Games and judoka Teddy Riner with five gold medals at the Summer Games, while the record for podiums is held by fencers Philippe Cattiau and Roger Ducret, in the 1920s-1930s with eight medals each, Martin Fourcade and Teddy Riner following with seven medals each (two silver in addition to these five titles for the former and two bronze for the latter), ahead of three other fencers, Lucien Gaudin, Christian d'Oriola and Philippe Riboud (six medals). Hosted GamesIn June 1894, during the first Olympic Congress in Paris, on the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin, it was decided to resume the Olympic Games and to found the IOC. In 1900, Paris hosted the second modern Summer Olympic Games, which took place as part of the World Exhibition. The Olympics were held there in Paris a second time in 1924 and a third time in 2024. This makes Paris, together with London, the current record city host, to which Los Angeles will also be added with its third hosting of the Summer Olympics in 2028. In total, France has hosted the Olympic games on six occasions and is scheduled to host a seventh with the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.
Overview of Olympic participation
Best results in non-medaling sports: Summary by sportAquaticsArtistic SwimmingFrance's only artistic swimming medal came in the Women's duet at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
DivingFrance's only diving medal came in the women's three-metre springboard in 1952.
SwimmingFrance first competed in swimming at the Paris 1900 Games, with 47 swimmers, taking five medals, including one Gold.
Water PoloFrance was a winner of 1924 tournament, and have twice more finished third.
ArcheryFrance competed in archery in its first Olympic appearance in Paris 1900. The French team there took 13 of the 20 medals, including gold in 4 of the 7 events.
AthleticsFrance first competed in athletics at the inaugural 1896 Games, winning a silver and a bronze. The nation's first gold medal in the sport is a disputed one; Michel Théato was Luxembourgish but living in Paris; his win in the 1900 marathon is credited to France by the International Olympic Committee, which rejected a petition by Luxembourg to change the Olympic record of Théato's nationality.[3]
Basque pelotaIn the only appearance of basque pelota as a medal sport at the Olympics in 1900, the French team (one of only two teams to enter) withdrew shortly before the competition started, and the match was not played. The Spanish pair is credited with the gold medal.[4][5]
CricketFrance is one of two nations to have competed in the only Olympic cricket competition, in 1900. The French team lost to a British team, taking second place.
CroquetFrance was the only nation to compete in the only Olympic croquet competitions, in 1900.
CyclingFrance first competed in cycling in 1896, winning four of the six cycling events—all of the events which France contested. France has won more gold medals (41) and total medals (91) in the sport than any other nation.
EquestrianFrance has won the third-most gold medals and fourth-most total medals in equestrian sports. The nation hosted the first equestrian events in Paris 1900, winning gold medals in two of the five events.
FencingFrance has won the second-most gold medals and second-most total medals in fencing, in each case behind Italy.
FootballFrance competed in the first men's Olympic football "tournament", winning one match and losing another to earn a second place finish currently recognized as a silver medal performance. The nation was a frequent competitor from then through 1996, peaking with a gold medal win in 1984. France did not qualify for the men's tournament from 2000 to 2016, but has qualified for the 2020 Games. France did not qualify for the first four women's tournaments from 1996 to 2008. The French women debuted in 2012, placing 4th, and followed that with a 5th-place finish in 2016.
GolfFrance competed in the first Olympic golf tournaments in 1900, which the nation hosted. The French golfers' best results that year were 4th place for the women and 10th place for the men. France did not compete in the 1904 golf tournaments. When the sport returned to the Olympics in 2016, France had two men and two women compete; the best result was Grégory Bourdy's 21st-place finish.
GymnasticsFrance had one gymnast participate in one event in the inaugural 1896 Games. The nation's first medals in the sport came when Paris hosted the Games in 1900; the only event on the schedule was the men's individual all-around, in which France swept the top 18 places (having 108 of the 135 competing gymnasts).
PoloFrance competed at two of the five editions of Olympic polo tournaments, both occasions when Paris hosted the Games in 1900 and 1924. The nation is formally credited with no medals, though French players competed on a mixed team in 1900 (along with a British player) that took bronze. France had a fully-French team as well in 1900, which took fifth place. Both the all-French and the mixed team went 0–1 (losing to the same team), with the mixed team placed higher due to a bye. The French team in 1924 went 0–4 in the round-robin tournament. Thus, the overall Olympic record of teams with French polo players is 0–6.
RowingFrance hosted the inaugural Olympic rowing contests in Paris 1900. France won 2 of the 5 gold medals, and a French boy served as cox in the final for the otherwise Dutch team that won the coxed pair.
RugbyFrance hosted the inaugural Olympic rugby union contest in 1900, winning the gold medal over Germany and Great Britain. France did not play in 1908, but returned in 1920 (losing the single match to the United States) and 1924 (beating Romania but losing again to the United States). With the return of rugby, in the form of rugby sevens, in 2016, France competed again. France had both men's and women's teams in 2016; both advanced out of pool play to the quarterfinals but were defeated there.
SailingFrance hosted the first Olympic sailing competitions in 1900, earning 24 total medals in the 13 events, including 5 golds.
ShootingFrance competed in shooting at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one shooter in one event, winning no medals. The nation's first medals came when France hosted the Games in 1900, with 3 golds and 10 total medals that year.
TennisFrance first competed in tennis at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one player competing in men's singles and losing in the first round.
See also
References
External links
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