France at the Olympics

The modern Olympic Games were started by a French historian named Pierre de Coubertin. France has been part of every Olympic Games, both in the Summer and Winter, except maybe the 1904 Games. French athletes have won many medals in many different sports, especially in fencing, cycling, and judo. In the Winter Olympics, France has also done well in alpine skiing and biathlon.

Some French athletes have become very famous in Olympic history. Biathlete Martin Fourcade has the most Olympic gold medals for France with six. Judoka Teddy Riner and another biathlete, Quentin Fillon Maillet, each have five gold medals. Fillon Maillet has the most total medals of any French athlete, with nine between 2022 and 2026. Other top medal winners include fencers Philippe Cattiau and Roger Ducret, who each won eight medals long ago in the 1920s and 1930s.

Hosted Games

French cities have played an important role in the Olympic Games. In June 1894, during a meeting in Paris, a man named Pierre de Coubertin helped start the modern Olympic Games again.

Paris first hosted the Summer Olympics in 1900, along with a big world fair. The city hosted the Games again in Paris and will host them once more in [/wiki/2024_Summer_Olympics). France has also hosted the Winter Olympics in places like Chamonix, Grenoble, and Albertville. With the upcoming 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps, France will have hosted the Olympic Games seven times in total.

Overview of Olympic participation

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

France at the Summer Olympics

  Host country

France at the Winter Olympics

  Host country

Medals by summer sport

  Leading in that sport

Medals by winter sport

*Military patrol is considered to be the precursor to biathlon, however the official website of the Olympic Movement designates military patrol as a separate discipline. The Official Report of the 1924 Games regards it as an event within the sport of skiing.

Best results in non-medaling sports:

Summary by summer sport

Aquatics

Artistic Swimming

France won its only artistic swimming medal in the women's duet event at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Diving

France's only diving medal came in the women's three-metre springboard event in 1952.

Swimming

France first joined swimming at the Paris 1900 Games with 47 swimmers, earning five medals including one gold.

Water Polo

France won the 1924 water polo tournament and has taken third place two more times.

Archery

France began in archery at the Paris 1900 Games, winning 13 of the 20 medals, including gold in four of the seven events.

Athletics

France started in athletics at the first Games in 1896, earning a silver and a bronze. The nation's first gold medal in this sport is uncertain; a runner named Michel Théato, living in Paris, won in 1900 but his nationality is debated.

Basque pelota

In the only Olympic appearance of basque pelota as a medal sport in 1900, France withdrew before the competition began, and Spain took the gold medal.

Cricket

France was one of two nations to compete in the only Olympic cricket event in 1900, finishing second to a British team.

Croquet

France was the sole nation to compete in the only Olympic croquet events, held in 1900.

Cycling

France began in cycling in 1896, winning four of the six events they entered. France has earned the most gold medals (41) and total medals (91) in cycling of any nation.

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, taking gold in two of the five events.

Fencing

France has earned the second-most gold medals and second-most total medals in fencing, just behind Italy.

Football

France joined the first men's Olympic football tournament, finishing second (which counts as a silver medal). The nation later won a gold medal in 1984. France did not qualify for the men's tournament from 2000 to 2016 but returned in 2020. The women's team debuted in 2012, placing fourth, and fifth in 2016.

Golf

France took part in the first Olympic golf tournaments in 1900, hosted by the nation. The best results that year were fourth place for the women and tenth place for the men. France did not compete in 1904. When golf returned to the Olympics in 2016, France sent two men and two women, with Grégory Bourdy finishing 21st.

Gymnastics

France had one gymnast in the first Games in 1896. The nation's first medals came at the Paris 1900 Games; in the only event, the men's individual all-around, France filled the top 18 places with 108 of the 135 competing gymnasts.

Polo

France participated in Olympic polo twice, both times when Paris hosted the Games in 1900 and 1924. The nation has no formal medals, though French players were on a mixed team in 1900 (with a British player) that earned bronze. France also had an all-French team in 1900, which placed fifth. In 1924, the French team finished last in the round-robin.

Rowing

France hosted the first Olympic rowing races in Paris 1900. France won two of the five gold medals, and a French boy was cox for the winning Dutch team in the coxed pair.

Rugby

France hosted the first Olympic rugby contest in 1900, winning the gold medal. France did not compete in 1908 but returned in 1920 and 1924. Rugby sevens returned in 2016, with both French men's and women's teams reaching the quarterfinals but not advancing.

Sailing

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

Shooting

France joined shooting at the first Games in 1896 but did not win any medals. The nation's first medals came when France hosted the Games in 1900, with three golds and ten total medals.

Tennis

France first entered tennis at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one player in men's singles who lost in the first round.