The Most Famous

ATHLETES from France

This page contains a list of the greatest French Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 463 of which were born in France. This makes France the birth place of the 5th most number of Athletes behind Russia, and United Kingdom.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary French Athletes of all time. This list of famous French Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of French Athletes.

1. Lucas (b. 0)

With an HPI of 64.69, Lucas is the most famous French Athlete. Their biography has been translated into 29 different languages on wikipedia.

Lucas or LUCAS may refer to:

2. Auguste Serrurier (1857 - 1901)

With an HPI of 61.74, Auguste Serrurier is the 2nd most famous French Athlete. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Auguste Serrurier (25 March 1857 in Denain — 21 March 1921 in Denain) was a French competitor in the sport of archery. Serrurier competed in two events, taking second place in both the Sur la Perche à la Herse and the Sur la Perche à la Pyramide competitions. He is now considered by the International Olympic Committee to have won two silver medals[1]. No scores are known from those competitions, though it is known that Serrurier tied with Emile Druart for second in the à la Herse event, and both are silver medallists.

3. Joseph Guillemot (1899 - 1975)

With an HPI of 61.34, Joseph Guillemot is the 3rd most famous French Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Joseph Guillemot (1 October 1899 – 9 March 1975) was a French middle- and long-distance runner. He won the 5000 metres and was second in the 10,000 metres at the 1920 Summer Olympics.

4. Eugène Mougin (1852 - 1923)

With an HPI of 61.01, Eugène Mougin is the 4th most famous French Athlete. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Eugène Mougin (17 November 1852 – 28 December 1924) was a French competitor in the sport of archery. Mougin competed in one event, winning the 50 metre Au Chapelet competition. He is now considered by the International Olympic Committee to have won a gold medal[1]. No scores are known from that competition. He was born in Paris and died in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine.

5. Christian d'Oriola (1928 - 2007)

With an HPI of 60.89, Christian d'Oriola is the 5th most famous French Athlete. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Christian d'Oriola (3 October 1928 – 29 October 2007) was a French fencer. He was a cousin of the Olympic equestrian Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola. D'Oriola took part in the 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960 Olympics, serving as the Olympic flag bearer for France in 1960. Between 1947 and 1958 he won four gold and two silver medals at Summer Olympics and eight world titles in the foil. At the 1960 Olympics he also competed in the team épée. He also competed at the Mediterranean Games in 1951 where he won a gold medal in the individual foil event and a silver medal in the team foil event, and in 1955 where he won gold medals in the individual and team foil events. He won the French national title in the team épée event in 1970. In 1972, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor. After retiring from competitions he acted as a fencing judge and served as vice-president of the French Fencing Federation.

6. Joanni Perronet (1877 - 1950)

With an HPI of 60.79, Joanni Perronet is the 6th most famous French Athlete. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Joanni Maurice Perronet (19 October 1877 – 1 April 1950) was a French painter and fencer. He was son of music composer Joanni Perronnet and Blanche Guérard, as well as grandson of the playwright and lyricist Amélie Perronnet. He was a fencing master, the only professional allowed to compete in the Olympic Games at the time. Two such masters, Perronet and Leonidas Pyrgos of Greece, competed in a special foil fencing event at the first modern Olympics. The two faced each other in an event that consisted of a single bout to three touches. Perronet lost the bout, 3-1. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning a silver medal. He had close links to Sarah Bernhardt, she was his godmother. In 1908, he became secretary-general of the Sarah-Bernhardt Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt. He is known as a painter, most of his paintings are seascapes. He also designed many posters for French railway companies and painted several portraits of Sarah Bernhardt.

7. Henri Helle (1873 - 1901)

With an HPI of 60.76, Henri Helle is the 7th most famous French Athlete. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Henri Hyacinthe Helle (4 September 1873 in Thiescourt – 21 June 1901 in Thiescourt) competed for France at the 1900 Summer Olympics, in archery. Helle competed in two events, taking second place[1] in the 50 metre Au Chapelet event and fourth place in the 50 metre Au Cordon Doré competition. His score of 27 points in the Au Cordon Doré was one point behind the third-place archer, Émile Fisseux. No scores are known for the Au Chapelet competition.

8. Charles Frédéric Petit (1857 - 1947)

With an HPI of 60.30, Charles Frédéric Petit is the 8th most famous French Athlete. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Charles Frédéric Petit (6 May 1857 – 19 February 1947) was a French competitor in the sport of archery. Petit competed in two events and won third prize in each. He is now considered by the International Olympic Committee to have won two bronze medals[1]. Both of Petit's events were the shorter 33 metre competitions, in both the Au Chapelet and Au Cordon Doré style.

9. Maurice Larrouy (1872 - 1968)

With an HPI of 59.91, Maurice Larrouy is the 9th most famous French Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Maurice Larrouy (born 3. December 1872 in Toulouse, date and place of death unknown) was a French sport shooter who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century in pistol shooting. He participated in Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris and won the gold medal in the 20 metre rapid fire pistol.

10. Albert Ayat (1875 - 1935)

With an HPI of 59.62, Albert Ayat is the 10th most famous French Athlete. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Albert Jean Louis Ayat (7 March 1875 – 2 December 1935) was a French fencer. He competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics alongside his brother Félix and won gold medals in the masters and amateur masters épée events.

People

Pantheon has 463 people classified as French athletes born between 1824 and 2006. Of these 463, 351 (75.81%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living French athletes include Lucas, Austria at the 2020 Summer Olympics#Eventing, and Guy Drut. The most famous deceased French athletes include Auguste Serrurier, Joseph Guillemot, and Eugène Mougin. As of April 2024, 463 new French athletes have been added to Pantheon including Lucas, Auguste Serrurier, and Joseph Guillemot.