France at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Sporting event delegation
France competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London , England .
Medalists
France finished in fourth position in the final medal rankings, with five gold medals and 19 medals overall.
Medal
Name
Sport
Event
Date
Gold
Eugène Grisot
Archery
Men's Continental style
July 20
Gold
André Auffray , Maurice Schilles
Cycling
Men's tandem
July 15
Gold
Gaston Alibert
Fencing
Men's épée
July 24
Gold
Gaston Alibert , Herman Georges Berger ,Charles Collignon , Eugène Olivier
Fencing
Men's team épée
July 24
Gold
Emile Thubron
Water motorsports
Class A
August 29
Silver
Louis Vernet
Archery
Men's Continental style
July 20
Silver
Géo André
Athletics
Men's high jump
July 21
Silver
Émile Demangel
Cycling
Men's 660 yd
July 15
Silver
Maurice Schilles
Cycling
Men's 5000 m
July 18
Silver
Alexandre Lippmann
Fencing
Men's épée
July 24
Bronze
Gustave Cabaret
Archery
Men's Continental style
July 20
Bronze
Joseph Dreher , Louis Bonniot de Fleurac , Paul Lizandier
Athletics
Men's 3 miles team race
July 15
Bronze
André Auffray
Cycling
Men's 5000 m
July 18
Bronze
Octave Lapize
Cycling
Men's 100 km
July 18
Bronze
Eugène Olivier
Fencing
Men's épée
July 24
Bronze
Louis Ségura
Gymnastics
Men's all-around
July 15
Bronze
Henri Arthus , Louis Potheau , Pierre Rabot
Sailing
6 m class
July 29
Bronze
Henri Bonnefoy , Paul Colas ,Léon Lécuyer , André Regaud
Shooting
Men's team small-bore rifle
July 11
Bronze
Eugène Balme , Albert Courquin , Raoul de Boigne ,Léon Johnson , Maurice Lecoq , André Parmentier
Shooting
Men's 300 m free rifle, team
July 10
Results by event
Archery
The French team was one of three to take part in the archery competitions in 1908. They dominated the Continental style of archery, with the 15 French archers taking the top 11 places, as well as 13th, 14th, 16th, and 17th. The two non-French archers in the event, a Briton and an American , took 12th and 15th, respectively. The team did not do as well in the York rounds, with none of the 10 French archers who also competed in it placing better than 16th.
Athletics
France's best athletics result was Géo André 's silver medal in the high jump.
Event
Place
Athlete
Heats
Semifinals
Final
Men's 100 metres
Heats
Georges Malfait
11.2 seconds 2nd, heat 3
Did not advance
Louis Lesca
Unknown 3rd, heat 6
Gaston Lamotte
Unknown 3rd, heat 11
Henri Meslot
Unknown 3rd, heat 13
Men's 200 metres
Semi- finalist
Georges Malfait
22.6 seconds 1st, heat 5
Unknown 3rd, semifinal 4
Did not advance
Heats
Henri Meslot
Unknown 2nd, heat 15
Did not advance
Men's 400 metres
Semi- finalist
Georges Malfait
50.0 seconds 1st, heat 6
Unknown 4th, semifinal 3
Did not advance
Men's 1500 metres
Semi- finalist
Jean Bouin
None held
Unknown 2nd, semifinal 7
Did not advance
Joseph Dreher
Unknown 5th, semifinal 4
Louis Bonniot de Fleurac
Unknown 6th, semifinal 1
—
Gaston Ragueneau
Did not finish —, semifinal 5
Men's 400 metre hurdles
Heats
Henri Meslot
Unknown 2nd, heat 12
Did not advance
—
Georges Dubois
Did not finish —, heat 6
Men's 3200 metre steeplechase
—
Gaston Ragueneau
None held
Did not finish —, semifinal 1
Did not advance
Louis Bonniot de Fleurac
Did not finish —, semifinal 2
Men's 3 mile team race
3rd
Louis Bonniot de Fleurac
None held
14:56.0 4 points, team=15
15:08.4 8 points, team=32
Joseph Dreher
15:37.2 10 points, team=15
15:40.0 11 points, team=32
Paul Lizandier
15:56.6 No score, team=15
16:03.0 13 points, team=32
No place
Jean Bouin
14:53.0 1 point, team=15
Did not start No score, team=32
Alexandre Fayollat
15:52.2 No score, team=15
Did not start No score, team=32
Men's 5 miles
Semi- finalist
Paul Lizandier
None held
Unknown 4th, semifinal 4
Did not advance
—
Gaston Ragueneau
Did not finish —, semifinal 1
Boxing
France competed in 4 of the 5 boxing events, not winning any bouts.
Opponent nation
Wins
Losses
Percent
Great Britain
0
7
.000
Total
0
7
.000
Cycling
France took one of the gold medals in cycling with a win in the men's tandem. Schilles also finished first in the men's sprint, but the final was voided due to the time limit having been exceeded.
Event
Place
Cyclist
Heats
Semifinals
Final
Men's 660 yards
2nd
Émile Demangel
59.8 seconds 1st, heat 6
51.6 seconds 1st, semifinal 2
Unknown
Semi- finalist
André Auffray
58.4 seconds 1st, heat 16
Unknown 2nd, semifinal 3
Did not advance
Pierre Texier
1:01.6 1st, heat 9
Unknown 3rd, semifinal 1
Heats
Georges Perrin
Unknown 2nd, heat 10
Did not advance
André Poulain
Unknown 2nd, heat 12
Gaston Dreyfus
Unknown 2nd, heat 14
Pierre Seginaud
Unknown 3rd, heat 2
Richard Villepontoux
Unknown 3rd, heat 4
Gaston Delaplane
Unknown 3rd, heat 8
Émile Marechal
Unknown 3rd, heat 11
—
Maurice Schilles
Time limit exceeded —, heat 5
Men's 5000 metres
2nd
Maurice Schilles
None held
7:55.4 1st, semifinal 7
Unknown
3rd
André Auffray
8:56.8 1st, semifinal 3
Unknown
4th
Émile Marechal
9:01.4 1st, semifinal 2
Unknown
Semi- finalist
Pierre Texier
Unknown 3rd, semifinal 4
Did not advance
Pierre Seginaud
Unknown 4th, semifinal 1
Gaston Dreyfus
Unknown 4th, semifinal 6
Georges Perrin
Unknown 4-7, semifinal 7
Gaston Delaplane
Unknown 4-9, semifinal 5
Richard Villepontoux
Unknown 4-9, semifinal 5
—
André Poulain
Did not finish —, semifinal 4
Émile Demangel
Disqualified —, semifinal 2
Men's 20 kilometres
5-9
François Bonnet
None held
Unknown 6th, semifinal 2
Unknown
Octave Lapize
Unknown 4th, semifinal 4
Unknown
Semi- finalist
C. Avrillon
33:40.8 2nd, semifinal 6
Did not advance
André Lapize
Unknown 4th, semifinal 1
G. C. Lutz
Unknown 4th, semifinal 2
Henri Baumler
Unknown 5th, semifinal 4
H. Cunault
Unknown 6-7, semifinal 3
Pierre Hostein
Unknown 7-8, semifinal 1
—
Pierre Texier
Did not finish —, semifinal 5
Men's 100 kilometres
3rd
Octave Lapize
None held
Unknown 4th, semifinal 2
Unknown
5th
Pierre Texier
Unknown 4th, semifinal 1
Unknown
9-17
François Bonnet
Unknown 7-14, semifinal 1
Did not finish
G. C. Lutz
Unknown 2nd, semifinal 1
Did not finish
Semi- finalist
André Lepere
Unknown 7-14, semifinal 1
Did not advance
—
Charles Avrillon
Did not finish —, semifinal 2
H. Cunault
Did not finish —, semifinal 2
Pierre Hostein
Did not finish —, semifinal 2
Jean Madelaine
Did not finish —, semifinal 2
Men's sprint
Finalist
Maurice Schilles
1:38.4 1st, heat 3
1:38.8 1st, semifinal 2
Time limit exceeded
Semi- finalist
Émile Demangel
1:35.2 1st, heat 9
Unknown 2nd, semifinal 3
Did not advance
André Auffray
1:23.6 1st, heat 10
Unknown 3rd, semifinal 4
Pierre Texier
1:31.0 1st, heat 13
Unknown 4th, semifinal 1
Heats
André Poulain
Unknown 2nd, heat 2
Did not advance
Pierre Seginaud
Unknown 2nd, heat 4
Richard Villepontoux
Unknown 2nd, heat 7
Émile Marechal
Unknown 2nd, heat 12
Gaston Delaplane
Unknown 2nd, heat 15
Gaston Dreyfus
Unknown 4th, heat 8
—
Georges Perrin
Time limit exceeded —, heat 16
Men's tandem
1st
André Auffray Maurice Schilles
3:11.4 1st, heat 5
2:46.2 1st, semifinal 2
3:07.6
Semi- finalist
François Bonnet Octave Lapize
3:06.8 1st, heat 6
Unknown 4th, semifinal 2
Did not advance
Heats
Maurice Texier Pierre Texier
Unknown 2nd, heat 2
Did not advance
Charles Avrillon Joseph Guyader
Unknown 2nd, heat 3
Gaston Dreyfus André Poulain
Unknown 2nd, heat 7
Men's team pursuit
Heats
André Auffray Émile Demangel Émile Marechal Maurice Schilles
2:32.0 2nd, heat 4
Did not advance
Fencing
France swept the épée competitions, taking all three individual medals and the team gold.
Event
Place
Fencers
Play-in match
First round
Semi- finals
Final
Repechage
Silver medal match
Men's team épée
1st
Gaston Alibert (1st, sf, f) Henri-Georges Berger (sf) Charles Collignon (sf) Eugène Olivier (sf, f) Bernard Gravier (1st, f)[ 1] Alexandre Lippmann (1st, f)[ 1] Jean Stern (1st)[ 1]
Bye
Defeated Denmark 10-6 Advanced to semifinals
Defeated Great Britain 12-5 Advanced to final
Defeated Belgium 9-7 Won gold medal
Not relegated
Men's team sabre
4th
Georges de la Falaise Bertrand Marie de Lesseps Marc Perrodon Louis Renaud
Not held
Defeated Belgium 10-6 Advanced to semifinals
Lost to Bohemia 9-7 Out 4th place
Did not advance
Not relegated
France was represented by the two national squads of France national football team & France B national football team . Each faced Denmark in its first match, with France coming off the loser both times.
Event
Place
Players
First round
Semifinals
Final
Bronze match
Men's football
4th
Georges-Henri Albert , Georges Bayrou , Gaston Cypres , Jean Dubly , René Fenouillière , André François (captain), Charles Renaux , Émile Sartorius , Louis Schubart , Maurice Tillette , Ursule Wibaut , Oscar Desaulty , Julien du Rhéart , Jean Zimmermann , and Gabriel Hanot
Bye
Lost vs. Denmark 17-1
Did not advance
Not relegated
6th
Pierre Six , Raoul Gressier , Justin Vialaret , Charles Bilot , Sadi Dastarac , Victor Denis , François Desrousseaux , Robert Eucher , Adrien Filez , Henri Holgard , Albert Jenicot , Georges Prouvost , Paul Mathaux , Étienne Morillon , Jules Verlet (captain)
Lost vs. Denmark 9-0
did not advance
Not relegated
Gymnastics
Hockey
Event
Place
Players
First round
Semifinals
Final
5th/6th
Men's hockey
6th
R. P. Aublin , D. Baidet , R. Benoit , André Bonnal , L. Gautier , D. M. Girard , C. Pattin , L. Poupon , F. Roux , René Salarnier , L. Saulnier , Fernand Versini
Lost vs. GBR England 10-1
Did not advance
Lost vs. Germany 1-0
Sailing
Shooting
Swimming
Tennis
Water motorsports
France had one boat enter competition in the motorboating events, winning a gold medal when that boat ended up being the only finisher in the open class.
Event
Place
Boat
Sailors
Result
Class A — Open class
1st
Camille
Emile Thubron 3 other crew members
Did not start (first race) Finished (second race)
Notes
^ a b c This fencer competed in the team event, but is not listed in the IOC medallist database.
References