Jules Ladoumègue
Jules Ladoumègue (born December 10, 1906 in Bordeaux , † March 3, 1973 in Paris ) was a French athlete who was successful in the middle distance in the late 1920s and early 1930s . He ran several world records and won Olympic silver.
Life
Jules Ladoumègue never saw his parents: his father, a dock worker, was the victim of an accident at work shortly before he was born, and his mother was killed in an apartment fire a few days after he was born. He grew up in extremely modest circumstances with his uncle. At the age of 12 he was apprenticed to a gardener. The site was located in the immediate vicinity of the hippodrome of the city of Talence , where the boy admired the trotters training there and decided to embrace the elegance of their running style. At the age of 15 he joined the Union Athletique Bordelaise and competed in his first races over distances between 8 and 20 km. Since it was customary to pay the winner 5 francs, Ladoumègue was already considered a professional back then. However, the SBUC (Stade Bordelais Universite Club), which he joined at his invitation, was able to achieve its re-amateurization. Five very successful years for Jules Ladoumègue followed.
- 1926: First participation in international races over 5000 m
- 1927: After serving in the military in Joinville, he joined the Stade francais, whose coach Charles Poulenard persuaded him to move to shorter distances; the best performance over 1500 m is recorded as 4: 07.2 minutes
- 1928: Ladoumègue becomes French champion over 1500 m in 3: 52.2 minutes and wins the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam
- In 1930, like in 1929, he remained unbeaten over the 1500 m. He joins the CASG (Club athletique de la societe generale) and makes the acquaintance of Sera Martin and Jean Keller, who not only become his opponents on the cinder track, but also his friends and helpers. On October 5th, in the Jean Bouin Stadium in Paris, he improved the world record held by the German Otto Peltzer (3: 51.0 min.) To 3: 49.2 min. And was the first runner in the world to stay below 3:50 min The second world record over 1000 m follows in the same month. Ladoumègue's time of 2: 23.6 minutes was only undercut by Rudolf Harbig 11 years later .
- 1931: World record over 2000 m in 5: 21.8 minutes and over 1 mile in 4: 09.2 minutes. With this time, achieved on October 4th, Ladoumègue undercut the previous record of the Finn Paavo Nurmi by 1.2 seconds.
In the meantime, both the German and the Swedish side had raised allegations against Jules Ladoumègue for violating the amateur statutes. There was talk of an entry fee of 25,000 francs. The French association was asked by the IAAF to investigate the matter. After initial attempts by the CASG to take the blame, it turned out that an organizer in Le Havre had been awarded the "highest bidder" to start Ladoumègue. When Ladoumègue did not appear for the hearing, he was declared a professional and thus excluded from participating in the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles . It wasn't until 1943 that he was re-amateurized - and ran the 1500 m in 3:58 minutes.
World records
- 1500 m: 3: 49.2 min. On October 5, 1930 in Paris
- 1000 m: 2: 23.6 min. On October 19, 1930 in Paris
- 2000 m: 5: 21.8 min. On July 2, 1931 in Paris
- 1 mile: 4: 09.2 min. On October 4, 1931 in Paris
Olympic games
1928 Amsterdam: 1500 m silver in 3: 53.8 minutes behind Harri Larva (Finland) in 3: 53.2 minutes and ahead of Eino Purje (Finland) in 3: 56.4 minutes.
Web links
- Histoires de Courses: Jules Ladoumègue
- Jules Ladoumègue in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ladoumègue, Jules |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French athlete |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 10, 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bordeaux |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 3, 1973 |
| Place of death | Paris |