| France at the 1896 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | FRA |
| NOC | French Olympic Committee |
| inAthens,Greece April 6, 1896 – April 15, 1896 | |
| Competitors | 11 in 6 sports and 18 events |
| Medals Ranked 4th |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
| 1906 Intercalated Games | |
France competed at the1896 Summer Olympics inAthens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896. French athletes had appeared in everySummer Olympic Games of the modern era, alongside Australia, Great Britain, and Greece. France won the fourth-mostgold 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.
The following competitors won medals at the games. In the discipline sections below, the medalists' names arebolded.
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gold | Paul Masson | Cycling | Men's 10 km | April 11 |
| Gold | Paul Masson | Cycling | Men's time trial | April 11 |
| Gold | Paul Masson | Cycling | Men's sprint | April 11 |
| Gold | Léon Flameng | Cycling | Men's 100 km | April 8 |
| Gold | Eugène-Henri Gravelotte | Fencing | Men's foil | April 7 |
 Silver | Alexandre Tuffère | Athletics | Men's triple jump | April 6 |
| Silver | Léon Flameng | Cycling | Men's 10 km | April 11 |
| Silver | Henri Callot | Fencing | Men's foil | April 7 |
| Silver | Joanni Perronet | Fencing | Men's masters foil | April 7 |
 Bronze | Albin Lermusiaux | Athletics | Men's 1500 m | April 7 |
| Bronze | Léon Flameng | Cycling | Men's sprint | April 11 |
| Medals by sport | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | | | | Total |
| Cycling | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Fencing | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Athletics | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 5 | 4 | 2 | 11 |
The following competitors won multiple medals at the 1896 Olympic Games.
| Name | Medal | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Masson | Gold Gold Gold | Cycling | Men's track time trial Men's sprint Men's 10 kilometres |
| Léon Flameng | Gold Silver Bronze | Cycling | Men's 100 kilometres Men's 10 kilometres Men's sprint |
The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.
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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.[2][3][4][5] Grisel entered the triple jump, but did not start.
Track & road events
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Adolphe Grisel | 100 m | Unknown | 4 | Did not advance | |
| Alexandre Tuffèri | DNS | Did not advance | |||
| Adolphe Grisel | 400 m | Unknown | 3-4 | Did not advance | |
| Georges de la Nézière | DNS | Did not advance | |||
| Frantz Reichel | 1:02.3 | 3 | Did not advance | ||
| Albin Lermusiaux | 800 m | 2:16.6 | 1Q | DNS | |
| Georges de la Nézière | Unknown | 3 | Did not advance | ||
| Frantz Reichel | DNS | Did not advance | |||
| Albin Lermusiaux | 1500 m | N/a | 4:36.0 | | |
| Georges de la Nézière | N/a | DNS | |||
| Frantz Reichel | 110 m hurdles | Unknown | 3 | Did not advance | |
| Albin Lermusiaux | 1500 m | N/a | DNF | ||
Field events
| Athlete | Event | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Position | ||
| Adolphe Grisel | Men's long jump | 5.83 | 5 |
| Alexandre Tuffèri | 5.98 | 4 | |
| Adolphe Grisel | Men's triple jump | DNS | |
| Alexandre Tuffèri | 12.70 | | |
| Louis Adler | Men's shot put | DNS | |
| Adolphe Grisel | DNS | ||
| Louis Adler | Men's discus throw | DNS | |
| Adolphe Grisel | Unknown | 5-9 | |
France dominated thecycling events, taking 4 of the 6gold medals. Three were won byPaul Masson who won every event he entered, withLéon 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.
| Athlete | Event | Time / Distance | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Masson | Men's time trial | 24.0 | |
| Léon Flameng | Men's sprint | Unknown | |
| Paul Masson | 4:58.2 | | |
| Léon Flameng | 10 km | 17:54.8 | |
| Paul Masson | 17:54.2 | | |
| Léon Flameng | 100 km | 3:08:19.2 | |
| Paul Masson | DNS | ||
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 theGreekLeonidas Pyrgos in the only match of the masters competition.
| Athlete | Event | Round 1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MW | ML | Rank | Opposition Score | Rank | ||
| Henri Callot | Men's foil | 3 | 0 | 1Q |  Gravelotte (FRA)L 1–3 | |
| Eugène-Henri Gravelotte | 3 | 0 | 1Q | Callot (FRA) W 3–1 | | |
| Henri de Laborde | 1 | 2 | 3 | Did not advance | 5 | |
| Joanni Perronet | Men's masters foil | N/a |  Pyrgos (GRE)L 1–3 | | ||
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.
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adolphe Grisel | Parallel bars | Unknown | 3–18 |
Lermusiaux entered the military rifle event in the shooting program. His score and placing are unknown.
| Athlete | Event | Hits | Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albin Lermusiaux | 200 m military rifle | Unknown | Unknown | 14–41 |
Only the first initial and last name of the French tennis player in 1896 is known. He was defeated in the first round of the singles tournament.
| Athlete | Event | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank | ||
| J. Defert | Singles | Kasdaglis (GRE) L | Did not advance | =8 | ||
