Tony Estanguet (French pronunciation:[ɛstɑ̃gɛ]; born 6 May 1978 inPau)[1] is a Frenchslalom canoeist and a three-time Olympic champion in C1 (canoe single). He competed at the international level from 1994 to 2012.
He successfully led Paris's bid for the2024 Summer Olympics and served as the head of the organising committee for those games.
Estanguet won three Olympic gold medals in the C1 event in2000,2004 and2012. At the 2004 games inAthens he won the gold medal after a late judges decision to award a 2-second penalty toMichal Martikán,[2] for which he was promoted to the rank of Commander in theOrdre national du Mérite,[3] having been inducted as aChevalier ('Knight') in the order in 2000.[4]
Estanguet was theflag-bearer for France at the2008 Beijing Summer Olympics opening ceremony. He finished in the 9th position (out of 12 competitors; only the first eight would qualify for the final) in the semi-finals of the C1 event and was thus eliminated from the final.
At the 2012 London Summer Olympics, he became the first French Olympian to win three gold medals in the same Olympic discipline.[5] He was promoted to the rank of Officer of theLegion of Honour on 31 December 2012,[6][7] having been inducted as aChevalier in 2000.[7]
In 2012, Estanguet was elected to theIOC Athletes' Commission. He served as anIOC member for eight years.[11][12] In 2016, he was appointed to lead the Paris effort to host the2024 Summer Olympics. TheParis bid proved successful,[13] and Estanguet served as the head of theorganizing committee for those Games.[14]
Estanguet graduated from French business schoolESSEC, specializing in sports marketing.[citation needed]
Tony is the son of Henri Estanguet, himself a canoeist who won medals at the Wildwater Canoe World Championships in the 1970s. His older brotherPatrice won a bronze medal at the1996 Summer Olympics inAtlanta.
France
