Jean Boiteux

Jean Boiteux ( born June 20, 1933, Marseille, Bordeaux † 11 April 2010 ) was a French swimmer.

Jean Boiteux started in his playing days for the clubs DTOEC, JUS Oran and G Bordeaux. He was the son of the synchronized swimmer Karine Schuler and nephew of the float Salvator Pellegry. At the Summer Olympics in Helsinki in 1952, he won the 400m freestyle gold medal on an improved audited by himself in the semifinals Olympic record on this track of 4:33.1 minutes equal to about 10 seconds. Thus he became the first Frenchman who was in swimming Olympic champion. He also won the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay bronze medal and entered the 1,500 m freestyle at, does not reach there but the final. For the second time he competed at the Games in Melbourne in 1956 and was sixth over 1,500 m freestyle, but missed this time the final of the 400m freestyle. Even with the 200 m freestyle relay Boiteux missed the final. A third time the Frenchman started in Rome in 1960 at the Olympic Games and was used in the 200 m freestyle relay, which like four years earlier, missed the final.

Between 1951 and 1956, Boiteux three European records in the 400m freestyle in 1952 a European record over 800 m, 1956 1500 m freestyle and 1951 together with Joseph Bernardo, Willy Blioch and Alex Jany in the 4x200 m freestyle relay. In 1982 Boiteux was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the international swimming sport. As early as 1952 he had been elected by the sports newspaper L' Équipe France's Sportsman of the Year ( " champion of champions" ).

Boiteux died in 2010 at the consequences of an accident.