Colette Besson
Colette Besson in 1968
Personal information
Born7 April 1946
Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, France
Died9 August 2005 (aged 59)
Angoulins, France
Height1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)200 m, 400 m, 800 m
ClubBordeaux EC
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)200 m – 23.4 (1969)
400 m – 51.79 (1969)
800 m – 2:03.3 (1971)
Medal record
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1968 Mexico City400 metres
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 1969 Athens400 metres
Silver medal – second place 1969 Athens4 × 400 m relay
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 1971 Izmir400 metres

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Colette Besson.
  1. 1 2 3 "Colette Besson, 59, French Track Star, Dies". The New York Times. 14 August 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Colette Besson – sports profile". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
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