France at the 1928 Summer Olympics
competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 255 competitors, 219 men and 36 women, took part in 112 events in 17 sports. At the beginning of the games there was an incident where a French coach was physically assaulted by a Stadium gatekeeper who refused him entry. It boiled over to a point where the entire French team did not participate in the Parade of Nations, and conversations were made to pull out of the games completely. However, the issue was resolved and France went on to compete.
Medalists
Aquatics
Diving
Four divers, 3 men and 1 woman, represented France in 1928. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. None of the French divers placed in the top 3 in their preliminary round groups to advance to the final; 3 out of the 5 opportunities, they came in 4th to just miss qualification.Swimming
13 swimmers, 7 women and 6 men, represented France in 1928. It was the nation's 6th appearance in the sport. The women's relay was the only swimmer or team to advance to an event final, placing 5th in a repeat of their 1924 performance. Pélégry had been a member of the 1924 relay as well. Stoffel, Klein, and Zeibig were other swimmers who had competed in 1924.Water polo
France, the defending gold medalist, competed in the men's water polo tournament for the fifth time. The French squad won its first two matches before being defeated by Hungary in the semifinals. Due to misunderstanding of the Bergvall system under which the tournament was meant to be played, France then faced Great Britain, the United States, and Argentina. The match against Great Britain is treated as the bronze medal match here.;Summary
; Men's tournament
;; Team roster
;; Round of 16
;; Quarterfinals
;; Semifinals
;; Bronze medal match
Athletics
50 athletes, 41 men and 9 women, represented France in 1928. It was the nation's 7th appearance in the sport as well as the Games. The French athletics team won 3 medals, one of each color. Boughera El Ouafi won the gold medal in the men's marathon, France's first gold medal in the sport since 1920. Jules Ladoumègue took silver in the men's 1500 metres. Claude Ménard earned bronze in the men's high jump.; Track and road events
; Field events
Boxing
Eight boxers, all men, represented France in 1928. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. France was one of 7 nations to have the maximum numbers of boxers, one per weight class. Apell won the French boxing team's only medal, a silver in the flyweight. Galataud also advanced to the semifinals, but lost there and in the bronze medal bout to finish 4th.Cycling
Eight cyclists, all men, represented France in 1928. It was the nation's seventh appearance in the sport. Roger Beaufrand won France's only cycling medal in 1928, the gold medal in the sprint.Road cycling
Cyclist | Event | Time | Rank |
Men's road race | 5:07:12 | 8 | |
Men's road race | 5:15:14 | 22 | |
Men's road race | 5:46:06 | 52 | |
Men's road race | 5:15:54 | 23 | |
Men's team road race | 15:38:20 | 7 | |
Men's team road race | 15:38:20 | 7 | |
Men's team road race | 15:38:20 | 7 | |
Men's team road race | 15:38:20 | 7 |
Track cycling
; Time trialCyclist | Event | Time | Rank |
Men's time trial | 1:16.0 | 4 |
; Match races
Equestrian
Nine equestrians, the maximum possible, represented France in 1928. It was the nation's fifth appearance in the sport. Charles Marion and Pierre Bertran de Balanda won individual silver medals.Dressage
Eventing
Jumping
Fencing
20 fencers, 17 men and 3 women, represented France in 1928. It was the nation's sixth appearance in the sport. French fencers won two gold medals and three silvers, the most successful nation in the sport for the second consecutive Games. Lucien Gaudin and Georges Buchard took the top two places in the men's individual épée, with Buchard also part of the silver-medal winning men's épée team. Roger Ducret, the star of 1924 with five medals, was part of that épée team for his only medal in 1928. Gaudin won another gold medal in the men's individual foil, as well as competing on the silver-medal men's foil team. The French women, just as in 1924, all failed to reach the final.Football
;Summary; Men's tournament
France competed in men's football for the fifth time in 1928. The team lost its first match against Italy, 4–3, and were eliminated from the single-elimination tournament.
;;Team roster
;;Round of 16
Gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics
Twenty gymnasts, 8 men and 12 women, competed for France in 1928. It was the nation's seventh appearance in the sport, having not competed in gymnastics only in 1904. France was one of 5 nation's to send women to the first Olympic women's gymnastics competition. The French men's team placed 4th of 11, while the women's team finished 5th of 5. None of the individual gymnasts won any medals; it was the first time since 1896 that France had competed in gymnastics but not won any medals. André Lemoine came closest, with a fourth-place finish in the parallel bars.Gymnast | Event | Score | Rank |
Men's all-around | 202.375 | 54 | |
Men's all-around | 216.750 | 39 | |
Men's all-around | |||
Men's all-around | 226.500 | 29 | |
Men's all-around | 232.000 | 22 | |
Men's all-around | 235.750 | 17 | |
Men's all-around | 219.125 | 35 | |
Men's all-around | 241.625 | 11 | |
Men's team all-around | 1620.750 | 4 | |
Men's team all-around | 1620.750 | 4 | |
Men's team all-around | 1620.750 | 4 | |
Men's team all-around | 1620.750 | 4 | |
Men's team all-around | 1620.750 | 4 | |
Men's team all-around | 1620.750 | 4 | |
Men's team all-around | 1620.750 | 4 | |
Men's team all-around | 1620.750 | 4 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's team all-around | 247.50 | 5 | |
Men's horizontal bar | 49.25 | 41 | |
Men's horizontal bar | 54.25 | 14 | |
Men's horizontal bar | |||
Men's horizontal bar | 50.75 | 37 | |
Men's horizontal bar | 54.00 | 16 | |
Men's horizontal bar | 53.25 | 25 | |
Men's horizontal bar | 47.50 | 45 | |
Men's horizontal bar | 55.50 | 9 | |
Men's parallel bars | 42.00 | 55 | |
Men's parallel bars | 42.75 | 51 | |
Men's parallel bars | 48.25 | 36 | |
Men's parallel bars | 53.75 | 4 | |
Men's parallel bars | 52.25 | 15 | |
Men's parallel bars | 46.50 | 41 | |
Men's parallel bars | 53.00 | 12 | |
Men's pommel horse | 38.00 | 68 | |
Men's pommel horse | 50.75 | 24 | |
Men's pommel horse | 49.00 | 33 | |
Men's pommel horse | 52.50 | 15 | |
Men's pommel horse | 47.75 | 41 | |
Men's pommel horse | 54.75 | 6 | |
Men's pommel horse | 48.75 | 34 | |
Men's pommel horse | 53.00 | 14 | |
Men's rings | 49.75 | 33 | |
Men's rings | 47.75 | 47 | |
Men's rings | 51.25 | 25 | |
Men's rings | 48.00 | 46 | |
Men's rings | 50.75 | 26 | |
Men's rings | 47.50 | 49 | |
Men's rings | 48.75 | 41 | |
Men's rings | 54.25 | 8 | |
Men's vault | 23.375 | 63 | |
Men's vault | 21.250 | 75 | |
Men's vault | – | ||
Men's vault | 27.000 | 21 | |
Men's vault | 25.750 | 37 | |
Men's vault | 28.000 | 6 | |
Men's vault | 27.625 | 10 | |
Men's vault | 25.875 | 36 |
Hockey
;Summary; Men's tournament
France competed in men's field hockey in 1928, the only nation to have competed in all 3 tournaments to that point. The team went 1–2 in its group, finishing 3rd in pool play and not advancing the gold or bronze medal finals.
;; Team roster
;; Group play
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Modern pentathlon
Three pentathletes, all men, represented France in 1928. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. France was one of five nations to have competed in each edition of the Olympic modern pentathlon to that time.Rowing
26 rowers, all men, represented France in 1928. It was the nation's fifth appearance in the event. Along with Italy and the United States, France was one of three nations to have a boat in each event. French rowers won a single medal, the silver in the coxed pair event.Sailing
13 sailors, 12 men and 1 woman, represented France in 1928. It was the nation's sixth appearance in the sport; France was the only country to have competed in each edition of the Olympic sailing contests to that point. France had the maximum of 1 boat in each event. The French boat L’Aile VI won the 8 metre class event, claiming first place in 3 of the 7 races. In the 6 metre event, Cupidon Viking was unable to finish better than 4th in any of the 4 preliminary races and did not qualify for the final 3 races. Similarly, the French dinghy sailors were unable to qualify for the final series.; Dinghy
; 6 metre and 8 metre classes