Jean Boiteux

Jean Boiteux

Boiteux with father at the 1952 Olympics
Personal information
Born	20 June 1933 Marseilles, France
Died	11 April 2010 (aged 76) Bordeaux, France
Height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	83 kg (183 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Event(s)	freestyle
Club	Dauphins du TOEC JUS Oran Girondins de Bordeaux
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	200 m – 2:08.3 (1956) 400 m – 4:29.0 (1956) 800 m – 9:38.2 (1952) 1500 m – 18:25.2 (1956)[1]
Medal record Representing  France Olympic Games 1952 Helsinki 400 m freestyle 1952 Helsinki 4×200 m freestyle European Championships 1950 Vienna 400 m freestyle 1950 Vienna 1500 m freestyle 1950 Vienna 4×200 m freestyle 1954 Turin 4×200 m freestyle Mediterranean Games 1951 Alexandria 400 m freestyle 1951 Alexandria 1500 m freestyle 1955 Barcelona 400 m freestyle 1955 Barcelona 1500 m freestyle

Jean Boiteux (20 June 1933 – 11 April 2010^[2]) was a French freestyle swimmer. He competed at the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won the 400 m event in 1952, breaking the Olympic record and becoming the first French swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal. During his career he won 15 national titles and set 15 national and 10 European records in the 200 m, 400 m, 1500 m and 4 × 200 m events.^[1]

His mother Bienna Pélégry was also an Olympic swimmer. His father attended the 1952 Olympics and jumped in the swimming pool to congratulate his son after he won the 400 m race. In 1973 Boiteux founded the Jean-Boiteux Grand Prix swimming meet in Bordeaux.^[3] He died after falling from a tree in his garden on 11 April 2010 at the age of 76.^[4]

References

1. "Olympics". sports-reference. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
2. (French) Jean Boiteux n'est plus, lequipe.fr, 12 April 2010.
3. (French) Bordeaux : 409 nageurs dans le grand bain. Published by France 3 Aquitaine, 14 February 2014; retrieved 2014-02-14.
4. "French Olympic swimming champion Boiteux dies at 76". Deutsche Presse-Agentur story. Monsters and Critics. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.