France at the Olympics

The modern Olympic Games were founded by French historian Pierre de Coubertin. France has competed in every edition (both Summer and Winter), with the possible exception of the 1904 Games (as sources disagree about whether athlete Albert Corey competed for the United States or France^[1][2]).

France at the Olympics
IOC code	FRA
NOC	French National Olympic and Sports Committee
Website	www.franceolympique.com (in French)
Medals Ranked 5th	Gold 264 Silver 293 Bronze 332 Total 889
Summer appearances
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
Winter appearances
1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

French athletes have won 751 medals at the Summer Olympic Games in a wide variety of sports, achieving particular success in fencing and cycling. France has won an additional 138 medals at the Winter Olympic Games, mostly in alpine skiing.

Hosted Games

 

 

1900,1924,2024

 

1924

 

1968

 

1992

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French host cities of the Olympic Games

France has hosted the Olympic games on five occasions and is planning to host the sixth: the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Games	Host city	Dates	Nations	Participants	Events
1900 Summer Olympics	Paris	14 May – 28 October	24	997	95
1924 Winter Olympics	Chamonix	25 January – 4 February	16	258	16
1924 Summer Olympics	Paris	5 – 27 July	44	3,089	126
1968 Winter Olympics	Grenoble	6 – 18 February	37	1,158	35
1992 Winter Olympics	Albertville	4 – 23 February	64	1,801	57
2024 Summer Olympics	Paris	26 July – 11 August	TBA	10 500	329

Overview of Olympic participation

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

France at the Summer Olympics   Host country Games Athletes   Gold   Silver   Bronze Total Rank   1896 Athens 13 5 4 2 11 4   1900 Paris 491 27 38 37 102 1   1904 St. Louis 1 0 1 0 1 13   1908 London 363 5 5 9 19 4   1912 Stockholm 119 7 4 3 14 6   1920 Antwerp 304 9 19 13 41 4   1924 Paris 401 13 15 10 38 3   1928 Amsterdam 255 6 10 5 21 5   1932 Los Angeles 103 10 5 4 19 6   1936 Berlin 201 7 6 6 19 5   1948 London 316 10 6 13 29 3   1952 Helsinki 245 6 6 6 18 8   1956 Melbourne 137 4 4 6 14 11   1960 Rome 238 0 2 3 5 25   1964 Tokyo 138 1 8 6 15 10   1968 Mexico City 200 7 3 5 15 10   1972 Munich 227 2 4 7 13 14   1976 Montreal 206 2 3 4 9 14   1980 Moscow 121 6 5 3 14 10   1984 Los Angeles 238 5 7 16 28 9   1988 Seoul 266 6 4 6 16 11   1992 Barcelona 350 8 5 16 29 8   1996 Atlanta 299 15 7 15 37 6   2000 Sydney 336 13 14 11 38 6   2004 Athens 308 11 9 13 33 7   2008 Beijing 323 7 16 20 43 10   2012 London 330 11 11 13 35 7   2016 Rio de Janeiro 401 10 18 14 42 6   2020 Tokyo 385 10 12 11 33 8   2024 Paris future event   2028 Los Angeles future event   2032 Brisbane Total 223 251 277 751 5

France at the Winter Olympics   Host country Games Athletes   Gold   Silver   Bronze Total Rank   1924 Chamonix 43 0 0 3 3 5   1928 St. Moritz 38 1 0 0 1 6   1932 Lake Placid 8 1 0 0 1 8   1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 28 0 0 1 1 9   1948 St. Moritz 36 2 1 2 5 7   1952 Oslo 26 0 0 1 1 11   1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 32 0 0 0 0 –   1960 Squaw Valley 26 1 0 2 3 9   1964 Innsbruck 24 3 4 0 7 6   1968 Grenoble 75 4 3 2 9 3   1972 Sapporo 40 0 1 2 3 12   1976 Innsbruck 35 0 0 1 1 14   1980 Lake Placid 22 0 0 1 1 14   1984 Sarajevo 32 0 1 2 3 11   1988 Calgary 68 1 0 1 2 15   1992 Albertville 109 3 5 1 9 7   1994 Lillehammer 98 0 1 4 5 11   1998 Nagano 106 2 1 5 8 11   2002 Salt Lake City 114 4 5 2 11 8   2006 Turin 82 3 2 4 9 12   2010 Vancouver 108 2 3 6 11 12   2014 Sochi 116 4 4 7 15 10   2018 Pyeongchang 107 5 4 6 15 9   2022 Beijing 86 5 7 2 14 10   2026 Milan–Cortina future event Total 41 42 55 138 13

Number of medals won by France at the Olympic summer games from 1896 to 2012.   Number of medals won by France at the Olympic winter games from 1924 to 2014.

Medals by summer sport   Leading in that sport Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total   Fencing 44 43 36 123   Cycling 41 26 26 93   Judo 16 13 28 57   Equestrian 15 15 13 43   Sailing 15 14 20 49   Athletics 13 27 30 70   Shooting 9 12 9 30   Weightlifting 9 3 3 15   Swimming 8 16 19 43   Rowing 8 15 13 36   Canoeing 8 9 19 36   Archery 7 11 7 25   Boxing 6 9 10 25   Tennis 5 6 8 19   Wrestling 4 4 10 18   Handball 4 2 1 7   Gymnastics 3 10 9 22   Croquet 3 2 2 7   Football 1 1 0 2   Water polo 1 0 2 3   Karate 1 0 0 1   Volleyball 1 0 0 1   Water motorsports 1 0 0 1   Basketball 0 4 1 5   Taekwondo 0 3 5 8   Rugby 0 3 0 3   Modern pentathlon 0 1 2 3   Table tennis 0 1 1 2   Diving 0 1 0 1   Artistic swimming 0 0 1 1   Marathon swimming 0 0 1 1   Triathlon 0 0 1 1 Totals (32 entries) 223 251 277 751

Medals by winter sport Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total   Alpine skiing 16 17 18 51   Biathlon 12 9 12 33   Snowboarding 4 5 4 13   Figure skating 4 3 7 14   Freestyle skiing 3 6 6 15   Nordic combined 2 1 1 4   Cross-country skiing 0 1 4 5   Bobsleigh 0 0 1 1   Curling 0 0 1 1   Ski jumping 0 0 1 1 Totals (10 entries) 41 42 55 138

Summary by sport

Aquatics

Swimming

France first competed in swimming at the Paris 1900 Games, with 47 swimmers taking one gold medal (and five total medals).

Games	Swimmers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	47	7/7	1	2	2	5
Total			8	15	20	43

Archery

France competed in archery in its first Olympic appearance in Paris 1900. The French team there took 13 of the 20 medals, including gold in 4 of the 7 events.

Games	Archers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	129	7/7	4	5	4	13
Total			6	11	7	24

Athletics

France first competed in athletics at the inaugural 1896 Games, winning a silver and a bronze. The nation's first gold medal in the sport is a disputed one; Michel Théato was Luxembourgish but living in Paris; his win in the 1900 marathon is credited to France by the International Olympic Committee, which rejected a petition by Luxembourg to change the Olympic record of Théato's nationality.^[3]

Games	Athletes	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1896 Athens	5	9/12	0	1	1	2
1900 Paris	23	18/23	1	4	2	7
Total			14	27	29	70

Basque pelota

In the only appearance of basque pelota as a medal sport at the Olympics in 1900, the French team (one of only two teams to enter) withdrew shortly before the competition started, and the match was not played. The Spanish pair is credited with the gold medal.^[4][5]

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	2	1/1	0	0	0	0
Total			0	0	0	0

Cricket

France is one of two nations to have competed in the only Olympic cricket competition, in 1900. The French team lost to a British team, taking second place.

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	12	1/1	0	1	0	1
Total			0	1	0	1

Croquet

France was the only nation to compete in the only Olympic croquet competitions, in 1900.

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	10	3/3	3	2	2	7
Total			3	2	2	7

Cycling

France first competed in cycling in 1896, winning four of the six cycling events—all of the events which France contested. France has won more gold medals (41) and total medals (91) in the sport than any other nation.

Games	Cyclists	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1896 Athens	2	4/6	4	1	1	6
Total			41	27	23	91

Equestrian

France has won the third-most gold medals and fourth-most total medals in equestrian sports. The nation hosted the first equestrian events in Paris 1900, winning gold medals in two of the five events.

Games	Riders	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	39	5/5	2	2	4	8
Total			14	13	10	37

Fencing

France has won the second-most gold medals and second-most total medals in fencing, in each case behind Italy.

Games	Fencers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1896 Athens	4	2/3	1	2	0	3
1900 Paris	211	7/7	5	5	5	15
Total			42	41	35	118

Football

France competed in the first men's Olympic football "tournament," winning one match and losing another to earn a second place finish currently recognized as a silver medal performance. The nation was a frequent competitor from then through 1996, peaking with a gold medal win in 1984. France did not qualify for the men's tournament from 2000 to 2016, but has qualified for the 2020 Games.

France did not qualify for the first four women's tournaments from 1996 to 2008. The French women debuted in 2012, placing 4th, and followed that with a 5th-place finish in 2016.

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	13	1/1	0	1	0	1
Total			1	1	0	2

Golf

France competed in the first Olympic golf tournaments in 1900, which the nation hosted. The French golfers' best results that year were 4th place for the women and 10th place for the men. France did not compete in the 1904 golf tournaments. When the sport returned to the Olympics in 2016, France had two men and two women compete; the best result was Grégory Bourdy's 21st-place finish.

Games	Fencers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	7	2/2	0	0	0	0
2016 Rio de Janeiro	4	2/2	0	0	0	0
Total			0	0	0	0

Gymnastics

France had one gymnast participate in one event in the inaugural 1896 Games. The nation's first medals in the sport came when Paris hosted the Games in 1900; the only event on the schedule was the men's individual all-around, in which France swept the top 18 places (having 108 of the 135 competing gymnasts).

Games	Gymnasts	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1896 Athens	1	1/8	0	0	0	0
1900 Paris	108	1/1	1	1	1	3
Total			3	10	9	22

Polo

France competed at two of the five editions of Olympic polo tournaments, both occasions when Paris hosted the Games in 1900 and 1924. The nation is formally credited with no medals, though French players competed on a mixed team in 1900 (along with a British player) that took bronze. France had a fully-French team as well in 1900, which took fifth place. Both the all-French and the mixed team went 0–1 (losing to the same team), with the mixed team placed higher due to a bye. The French team in 1924 went 0–4 in the round-robin tournament. Thus, the overall Olympic record of teams with French polo players is 0–6.

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	7	1/1	0	0	0	0^[6]
1924 Paris	5	1/1	0	0	0	0
Total			0	0	0	0^[6]

Rowing

France hosted the inaugural Olympic rowing contests in Paris 1900. France won 2 of the 5 gold medals, and a French boy served as cox in the final for the otherwise Dutch team that won the coxed pair.

Games	Rowers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	47	4/4	2	3	1	6^[7]
Total			8	15	14	37

Rugby

France hosted the inaugural Olympic rugby union contest in 1900, winning the gold medal over Germany and Great Britain. France did not play in 1908, but returned in 1920 (losing the single match to the United States) and 1924 (beating Romania but losing again to the United States).

With the return of rugby, in the form of rugby sevens, in 2016, France competed again. France had both men's and women's teams in 2016; both advanced out of pool play to the quarterfinals but were defeated there.

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1900 Paris	17	1/1	1	0	0	1
1920 Antwerp	15	1/1	0	1	0	1
1924 Paris	30	1/1	0	1	0	1
2016 Rio de Janeiro	25	2/2	0	0	0	0
Total			1	2	0	3

Sailing

France hosted the first Olympic sailing competitions in 1900, earning 24 total medals in the 13 events, including 5 golds.

Games	No. Sailors	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Ranking
1900	451	130/13	5	9	10	24	1
1908	3	1/4	0	0	1	1	4
1912	3	1/4	1	0	0	1	3
1920	3	1/14	0	1	0	1	6
1924	9	3/3	0	0	1	1	5
1928	13	3/3	1	0	0	1	3
1932	3	2/4	1	0	0	1	3
1936	14	4/4	0	0	0	0
1948	17	5/5	0	0	0	0
1952	9	4/5	0	0	0	0
1956	8	4/5	0	0	0	0
1960	11	5/5	0	0	0	0
1964	3	2/5	0	0	0	0
1968	9	4/5	0	0	0	0
1972	11	5/6	1	1	0	2	2
1976	10	5/6	0	0	0	0
1980	0	0/6	0	0	0	0
1984	11	6/7	0	0	1	1	8
1988	13	7/8	2	0	0	2	1
1992	17	10/10	2	0	0	2	2
1996	13	8/10	0	0	0	0
2000	12	7/11	0	0	0	0
2004	18	11/11	1	0	1	2	7
2008	18	11/11	0	1	2	3	9
2012	16	10/10	0	0	1	1	12
2016	15	10/10	1	0	2	3	6
2020	14	9/10	0	2	1	3	8
Total			15	14	20	49	4

Shooting

France competed in shooting at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one shooter in one event, winning no medals. The nation's first medals came when France hosted the Games in 1900, with 3 golds and 10 total medals that year.

Games	Shooters	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1896 Athens	1	1/5	0	0	0	0
1900 Paris	37	9/9	3	4	3	10
Total			9	14	10	33

Tennis

France first competed in tennis at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one player competing in men's singles and losing in the first round.

Games	Athletes	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1896 Athens	1	1/2	0	0	0	0
1900 Paris	14	4/4	0	1	1	2^[8]
Total			5	6	8	19

See also

• List of flag bearers for France at the Olympics
• Category:Olympic competitors for France
• France at the Paralympics
• List of Olympic female gymnasts for France

References

1. "St. Louis 1904 Summer Olympics - Athletes, Medals & Results". 25 April 2018.
2. "Olympic Games | History, Locations, & Winners".
3. "Michel THEATO (1878-1919)". pierrelagrue-jo.com. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
4. 1900 basque pelota results from olympic.org
5. "Two-Man Teams With Cesta, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
6. Does not include a bronze medal by a mixed team that included French players.
7. Does not include a gold medal as part of a mixed team in 1900.
8. Does not include a silver medal earned as part of a mixed team in tennis in 1900

External links

• "France". International Olympic Committee. 27 July 2021.
• "France". Olympedia.com.
• "Olympic Analytics/FRA". olympanalyt.com.