Colette Besson: Difference between revisions
imported>Jevansen m Copying from Category:Sportspeople from Charente-Maritime to Category:Athletes from Nouvelle-Aquitaine using Cat-a-lot |
imported>JJMC89 bot III m Moving Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) to Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy |
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Latest revision as of 10:25, 31 October 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Script error: No such module "infobox".Template:Wikidata imageScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters". Colette Besson (7 April 1946 – 9 August 2005) was a French athlete, the surprise winner of the 400 m at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.[1][2]
Athletic career
Prior to the 1968 Olympics, Besson, an unknown physical education teacher, qualified for the 400 m event. In the final, Britain's Lillian Board – the favourite for the gold – was way ahead of the rest of the field with just 100 m to go. With an amazing last sprint, Besson then moved up from fifth place to beat Board on the finish line by a tenth of a second. Her winning time of 52.03 seconds was 1.8 seconds better than her personal best.[1]
The next year, Besson came close to winning another international title at the European Championships. In the 400 m final, she crossed the line almost level with her teammate Nicole Duclos, both in the world record time of 51.7. However, Duclos was awarded the victory after examination of the photo finish. In the 4 × 400 m relay final, Besson, who was anchoring the French team, passed the finish line at the same moment as Lillian Board. Again, photo finish evidence determined Besson had come second.
After 1969, Besson would not win any more international medals. She qualified for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, but was eliminated in the preliminaries, although she took fourth place in the relay. She retired from athletics in 1977.[2]
Death
Besson died on 9 August 2005 of cancer, two years after being diagnosed with the disease.[1]
References
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- Pages with script errors
- 1946 births
- 2005 deaths
- Sportspeople from Charente-Maritime
- Athletes from Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- French women sprinters
- Olympic athletes for France
- Olympic gold medalists for France
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Deaths from cancer in France
- European Athletics Championships medalists
- Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists in athletics
- Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Mediterranean Games
- Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics
- 20th-century French sportswomen
- Olympic women sprinters
- French Athletics Championships winners