France at the 1908 Summer Olympics

France competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England.

France at the 1908 Summer Olympics
IOC code	FRA
NOC	French National Olympic and Sports Committee
Website	www.franceolympique.com (in French)
in London
Competitors	363
Medals Ranked 4th	Gold 5 Silver 5 Bronze 9 Total 19
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Medalists

Further information: 1908 Summer Olympics medal table and List of 1908 Summer Olympics medal winners

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

Main article: Archery at the 1908 Summer Olympics

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.

Event	Place	Archer	Score
Men's double York round	16th	Henri Berton	425
	17th	Eugène Richez	418
	19th	Eugène Grisot	410
	20th	Louis Vernet	385
	22nd	Louis Salingre	347
	23rd	Albert Dauchez	280
	24th	Charles Quervel	241
	25th	Edouard Beaudoin	215
	26th	Gustave Cabaret	191
	27th	Alfred Poupart	Did not finish
Men's Continental style	1st	Eugène Grisot	263
	2nd	Louis Vernet	256
	3rd	Gustave Cabaret	255
	4th	Charles Aubras	231
	5th	Charles Quervel	223
	6th	Albert Dauchez	222
	7th	Louis Salingre	215
	8th	Henri Berton	212
	9th	Eugène Richez	210
	10th	Edouard Beaudoin	206
	11th	Charles Vallée	193
	13th	Émile Fisseux	185
	14th	Jean Louis de la Croix	177
	16th	Alfred Poupart	155
	17th	Oscar Jay	134

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics

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

Event	Place	Athlete	Height/ Distance
Men's high jump	2nd	Géo André	1.88 metres
Men's long jump	21-32	Henri Gutierrez	Unknown
Men's pole vault	10th	Robert Pascarel	3.20 metres
	12th	G. Koeger	3.05 metres
Men's standing high jump	5th	Géo André	1.47 metres
		Alfred Motté	1.47 metres
	19-23	Henri Jardin	Unknown
Men's standing long jump	8-25	Henri Jardin	Unknown
		Alfred Motté	Unknown
Men's shot put	9-25	Charles Lagarde	Unknown
		André Tison	Unknown
Men's discus throw	8th	André Tison	38.30 metres
	12-42	Charles Lagarde	Unknown

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics

France competed in 4 of the 5 boxing events, not winning any bouts.

Weight class	Place	Boxer	Round of 16	Quarter- finals	Semi- finals	Final
Bantamweight Up to 116 pounds	4th	Pierre Mazior	Not held	Lost to Condon KO, 3rd round	Did not advance
Featherweight Up to 126 pounds	5th	Louis Constant	Not held	Lost to Ringer 2-0 decision	Did not advance
		Étienne Poillot		Lost to Gunn KO, 2nd round
Lightweight Up to 140 pounds	7th	André Bouvier	Lost to Holmes KO, 2nd round	Did not advance
Middleweight Up to 158 pounds	6th	Gaston Aspa	Lost to William Childs KO, 2nd round	Did not advance
		René Doudelle	Lost to Douglas KO, 1st round
		Charles Morard	Lost to Warnes KO, 2nd round

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Great Britain	0	7	.000
Total	0	7	.000

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Fencing at the 1908 Summer Olympics

France swept the épée competitions, taking all three individual medals and the team gold.

Event	Place	Fencer	First round	Second round	Semi- final	Final
Men's épée	1st	Gaston Alibert	7-1 (1st in E)	4-0 (1st in 3)	7-2 (1st in 1)	7-2
	2nd	Alexandre Lippmann	4-1 (1st in L)	4-1 (1st in 5)	5-4 (3rd in 2)	5-3
	3rd	Eugène Olivier	3-2 (3rd in J)	2-1 (1st in 8)	5-4 (3rd in 2)	4-3
	Semi- finalist	Henri-Georges Berger	7-0 (1st in D)	3-2 (2nd in 3)	4-5 (5th in 1)	Did not advance
		Jean Stern	4-1 (1st in M)	4-2 (2nd in 1)	3-4 (5th in 2)
	Second round	Jacques Rodocanachi	3-3 (3rd in H)	2-2 (3rd in 2)	Did not advance
		Bernard Gravier	4-2 (2nd in A)	2-2 (3rd in 4)
		Charles Collignon	5-2 (2nd in B)	1-3 (3rd in 6)
		Robert Quennessen	5-3 (2nd in I)	1-2 (3rd in 8)
		Jacques Marais	5-0 (1st in C)	1-3 (5th in 4)
	First round	Frédéric Dubourdieu	4-3 (4th in G)	Did not advance
Men's sabre	7th	Georges de la Falaise	3-1 (1st in F)	2-1 (1st in 8)	4-3 (3rd in 1)	1-6
	Semi- finalist	Bertrand Marie de Lesseps	4-1 (1st in H)	3-0 (1st in 4)	1-6 (8th in 1)	Did not advance
	Second round	Georges Lateux	2-2 (2nd in D)	1-3 (5th in 1)	Did not advance
	First round	Jean de Mas Latrie	2-3 (4th in A)	Did not advance
		Louis Renaud	3-2 (4th in C)
		Georges Langevin	0-3 (4th in E)
		Frédéric Chapuis	3-2 (4th in L)
		Marc Perrodon	3-2 (4th in M)
		Ismaël de Lesseps	1-4 (5th in G)
		Joseph, Marquis de Saint Brisson	0-5 (6th in I)
		Jean Mikorski	2-5 (8th in J)

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

Football

Main article: Football at the 1908 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Gymnastics at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Gymnast	Event	Score	Rank
Louis Ségura	Men's all-around	297
Marcel Lalu		258.75	7
Raphaël Diaz		258.5	8
Jules Rolland		249.5	10
François Nidal		249	11
Antoine Costa		241.75	14
Georges Turnheer		232	18
Jean Castigliano		227	20
Justinien Lux		226	22
Dominique Follacci		222	26
Georges Charmoille		222	26
Alfred Castille		220	28
Ferdinand Castille		218	30
Victor Dubois		212.5	32
Paulin Lemaire		207.25	35
G. Mounier		204.5	38
E. Gauthier		195	43
F. Lekim		180.5	53
Georges Ratelot		172.75	57
Edouard Boislevé		120	89
Lucien Bogart Albert Borizée Henri de Breyne Nicolas Constant Charles Courtois Louis Delattre A. Delecluse Louis Delecluse Georges Demarle Joseph Derou Charles Desmarcheliers Camille Desmarcheliers Édmond Dharancy Georges Donnet Émile Duhamel A. Duponcheel Paul Durin A. Eggremont G. Guiot L. Hennebicq Henri Hubert Désiré Hudelo E. Labitte L. Lestienne R. Lis Victor Magnier G. Nys Joseph Parent Louis Pappe V. Polidori Gustave Pottier Antoine Pinoy Louis Sandray Émile Schmoll Émile Steffe E. Vercruysse Hugo Vergin E. Vicogne Jules Walmée G. Warlouzer	Men's team	319	5

Hockey

Main article: Field hockey at the 1908 Summer Olympics

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

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Germany	0	1	.000
Great Britain	0	1	.000
Total	0	2	.000

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Class	Place	Boat	Sailors
6 metre	3rd	Guyoni	Henri Arthus, Louis Potheau, Pierre Rabot

Shooting

Event	Place	Shooter	Score
Men's 1000 yard free rifle	19th	Raoul de Boigne	86
	23rd	André Angelini	85
	28th	Paul Colas	82
	35th	Léon Hecht	75
	38th	Daniel Merillon	69
	39th	Léon Moreaux	67
	48th	Léon Tétart	21
Men's 300 metre free rifle	8th	Léon Johnson	835
	25th	Paul Colas	759
	31st	Maurice Lecoq	730
	34th	André Angelini	706
Men's team free rifle	3rd	Léon Johnson Eugène Balme André Parmentier Albert Courquin Maurice Lecoq Raoul de Boigne	4652
Men's team military rifle	4th	Raoul de Boigne Albert Courquin Eugène Balme Daniel Mérillon Léon Hecht André Parmentier	2227
Men's stationary target small-bore rifle	13th	André Mercier	366
	17th	Léon Tétart	350
	19th	Henri Bonnefoy	304
Men's moving target small-bore rifle	10th	Léon Johnson	13
	14th	André Mercier	10
	15th	Léon Tétart	9
Men's disappearing target small-bore rifle	19th	André Mercier	30
	21st	Léon Johnson	24
	22nd	Léon Tétart	21
Men's team small-bore rifle	3rd	Paul Colas André Regaud Léon Lécuyer Henri Bonnefoy	710
Men's single-shot running deer	13th	Léon Tétart	11
	14th	Maurice Robion du Pont	6
	15th	André Barbillat	3
Men's double-shot running deer	12th	Léon Tétart	21
	14th	Maurice Robion du Pont	18
Men's individual pistol	6th	André Barbillat	466
	10th	André Regaud	451
	17th	Léon Moreaux	438
	22nd	Jean Depassis	427
	30th	Léon Lécuyer	401
	34th	Maurice Robion du Pont	391
Men's team pistol	4th	André Barbillat André Regaud Léon Moreaux Jean Depassis	1750
Men's individual trap shooting	23rd	Emile Béjot	28

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Event	Place	Swimmer	Heats	Semifinals	Final
Men's 100 metre freestyle	Heats	Gérard Meister	Unknown 3-5, heat 2	Did not advance
		René André	Unknown 4-5, heat 5
Men's 400 metre freestyle	—	Henri Decoin	Did not finish —, heat 1	Did not advance
Men's 1500 metre freestyle	Heats	André Theuriet	32:37.0 3rd, heat 4	Did not advance

Tennis

Main article: Tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Event	Place	Name	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarter- finals	Semi- finals	Final
Men's singles	5th	Maurice Germot	Bye	Defeated Schomburgk	Bye	Lost to Ritchie	Did not advance

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Germany	1	0	1.000
Great Britain	0	1	.000
Total	1	1	.500

Water motorsports

Main article: Water motorsports at the 1908 Summer Olympics

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)