Colette Besson

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Colette Besson at the 1968 Olympics

Colette Besson (born April 7, 1946 in Saint-Georges-de-Didonne , † August 9, 2005 in La Rochelle ) was a French sprinter and Olympic champion .

The until then rather unknown French runner Colette Besson surprisingly qualified for participation in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico and won the gold medal in the 400-meter run in front of the favored Briton Lillian Board (silver) and the Russian Natalja Petschonkina (bronze).

At the European Championships in 1969 , she won silver over 400 meters (defeated by her compatriot Nicole Duclos wafer-thin) and with the 4-by-400-meter relay , where she was knocked down this time in the finish by Lillian Board. After that she could not win any more international medals and ended her career in 1977. She died in 2005 of complications from cancer.

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