France at the 1896 Summer Olympics


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.

Medalists

MedalNameSportEventDate
CyclingMen's 10 km
CyclingMen's time trial
CyclingMen's sprint
CyclingMen's 100 km
FencingMen's foil
AthleticsMen's triple jump
CyclingMen's 10 km
FencingMen's foil
FencingMen's masters foil
AthleticsMen's 1500 m
CyclingMen's sprint

Athletics

The five French athletes won 2 medals between them. Tuffère appears to have entered the 100 metres but not started; some sources have André Tournois in the first heat of the 100 metres instead of Grisel.
; Track and road events
; Field events

Cycling

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.
AthleteEventTime / DistanceRank
Paul MassonTime trial24.0
Paul MassonSprint4:58.2
Paul Masson10 km17:54.2
Léon FlamengTime trial27.05
Léon FlamengSprintUnknown
Léon Flameng10 km17:54.8
Léon Flameng100 km3:08:19.2

Fencing

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.

Gymnastics

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 this competition.
AthleteEventResultRank
Adolphe GriselParallel barsUnknownUnknown

Shooting

Lermusiaux entered the military rifle event in the shooting program. His score and placing are unknown.
AthleteEventHitsScoreRank
Albin Lermusiaux200 m military rifleUnknownUnknownUnknown

Tennis

Only the last name of the French tennis player in 1896 is known. He was defeated in the first round of the singles tournament.