Alain Mimoun
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Alain Mimoun, born Ali Mimoun Ould Kacha (1 January 1921 – 27 June 2013), was a French
On the track Mimoun won three Olympic silver medals, finishing second behind
Born in Algeria,[6][7][8] Mimoun fought military battles for France and the Western Allies during World War II. He settled in metropolitan France shortly after leaving the French army. Overall, he represented France in four consecutive Olympic Games from 1948 to 1960. He competed internationally for France on 86 occasions. From 1947 to 1966, he won a total of 29 senior titles in the 5,000 m, 10,000 m, marathon and cross-country events of the French national championships. Mimoun continued to run in his later life and set a number of veteran age-category records.
Early life
Alain Mimoun was born Ali Mimoun Ould Kacha in the arrondissement of Maïder in the town of
World War II and early running career
Mimoun enlisted in the
Mimoun's running career was interrupted when he was called up to fight for the
After his stint in the army in Europe had ended, Mimoun returned to Algeria where he continued to participate in running events. He was demobilised in 1946 while he was in Algiers. Upon leaving the French Army after seven years of service, he moved from Algeria to Paris. There, he signed up with the Racing Club de France, a famous sports club, and began calling himself Alain.[21] The club arranged for him to work as a waiter in the café-bar of its facilities, which were then located in the Bois de Boulogne, and Mimoun would train in that park.[22] In October 2002 and March 2012, Mimoun spoke of his difficult return to civilian life, "I was a café waiter. I did not have enough to eat. I won four Olympic medals while I was living in a small, two-room apartment (in the 19th arrondissement of Paris) without heating, shower and toilet."
Running career from 1948 onwards
Before the 1956 Olympic Games
Mimoun rose to international prominence at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He was the runner-up in the 10,000 m final held at the Wembley Stadium on 31 July, behind the Czechoslovak runner Emil Zátopek. Zátopek was dominant and lapped all competitors bar Mimoun and bronze medallist Bertil Albertsson. Mimoun finished 47.8 seconds and more than 300 meters behind Zátopek.[24] Mimoun also ran in the 5,000 m event of the 1948 Summer Olympics but did not progress to the final round.[25] The following year he won the 5,000 m and 10,000 m French national championships titles and won his first major race at the International Cross Country Championships in Dublin, finishing ahead of compatriot Raphaël Pujazon in the individual event. He also led France to the team title.[26]
He claimed cross country and 10,000 m French national championships titles in 1950,[9] but on the international stage he was again second best to Zátopek, taking the silver medals in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m events at the 1950 European Athletics Championships.[21] At the 1950 International Cross Country Championships he was runner-up to Belgium's Lucien Theys in the individual race, but retained the team title with France.[26] He won the 5,000 m and 10,000 m gold medals at the 1951 Mediterranean Games and swept the French national championships 5,000 m, 10,000 m and cross country titles in both 1951 and 1952.[9]
Mimoun topped the podium for the individual and team events at the International Cross Country Championships in March 1952.
Away from Zátopek, Mimoun continued to dominate the French scene and claimed a third individual title at the International Cross Country Championships in 1954,[9] although a foot injury left him unable to compete at the 1954 European Athletics Championships later that year.[22] His 1955 was highlighted by the successful defence of his 5,000m and 10,000m track titles at both the 1955 Mediterranean Games and the French national championships.[9]
On 10 Oct 1955 in Algiers, Mimoun beat the French national record for the one hour run that had been held by Jean Bouin since 6 July 1913. On that day, Mimoun ran a distance of 19 km 78 metres, compared to the 19 km 21 metres (which then became a new world record) ran by Bouin on 6 July 1913 in Stockholm.[28]
Mimoun began 1956 in strong form, capturing the French national championships 5,000m, 10,000m and cross country titles, and winning what would be his fourth and final individual title at the International Cross Country Championships.[9]
1956 Olympic Games
Mimoun faltered in his first event at the
Mimoun entered the Olympic
On his return home from Melbourne, there was a crowd of 15,000 people, a hero's welcome and a red carpet awaiting Mimoun at Paris' Orly Airport. At the airport, he did not get a chance to walk on the red carpet as he was carried in triumph by the crowd. Thereafter, receptions were held in his honour for three months. The day after he arrived home from Melbourne, he returned to the regular job that he had been doing since 1946 – as a waiter in a café-bar at the Racing Club de France [12][33][34]
“I was sure Emil was there at my heels,” Mimoun told Sports Illustrated in 1972. “I was hoping he would be second. I was waiting for him. Then I thought, well, he would be third. It would be nice to stand on the podium with him again. But Emil came in sixth, oh, very tired. He seemed to be in a trance, staring straight ahead. He said nothing."[21] Mimoun later told a biographer, Pat Butcher, that he had been well-prepared for racing the Melbourne Olympics marathon. "I gorged myself on 40 km a day for two years, without telling a soul."[35] "He would train three times a day, running a daily total distance of 35 km. It was certainly not for the 10,000-meter race, even though he had told me that he would not contest the marathon," said Mimoun's wife, Germaine, during an interview in 2006 with AFP. Mimoun revealed that before leaving for Melbourne for the 1956 Olympics, he had done his final training in the
Reflecting on the four Olympic medals that he had won, Mimoun remarked, "I compare my career to a castle: my London silver medal is the foundation; my two Helsinki silver medals are the walls; my gold medal in Melbourne is the roof."[37]
Upon hearing the news of the death of Emil Zátopek in November 2000, he stated, "I have not lost an opponent, I have lost a brother."[21]
After the 1956 Olympic Games
Mimoun did not compete in 1957 but returned in 1958 with a runner-up finish behind Stan Eldon in the individual race at the International Cross Country Championships and his first national marathon title.[38] He placed seventh in the 10,000-meter event at the 1958 European Athletics Championships. In 1959 he came sixth in the individual race at the International Cross Country Championships,[38] and won national titles in the marathon and cross country. As he neared his forties, his athletic powers began to decline. Although he continued to compete, he did not win a national title on grass or the track after 1959.[9] Four further outings from 1960 to 1964 at the International Cross Country Championships saw finishes in the individual event ranging from 18th to 26th place.[38]
Mimoun made the French team for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and placed 34th in the marathon. He won his final national championship title at the senior level – the marathon – in 1966, some twenty years after his debut. His career at the top of the national and international ranks finished at that point but he continued to be a presence as a veteran runner.[22] At the age of 51, he completed a marathon in a time of 2:34:36.2.[27] He set French age-category records for the 5,000 m, 10,000 m, 20,000 m and the one hour run.[39] He won a total of more than 80 French national running championships titles, including those for veteran athletes, the last one while in his seventies. In the last years of his life, he continued to jog or racewalk almost daily, up to 10–15 miles per day, on the roads and paths in the vicinity of his detached house in Champigny-sur-Marne in Val-de-Marne department, at the Bois de Vincennes and on the roads around Bugeat in Corrèze department.[12][40][41][42][43]
Later life and legacy
After Mimoun arrived back home from the
Mimoun worked as a waiter in a café-bar at the Racing Club de France and as a physical education instructor in France after the end of World War II.[8][21]
When Mimoun settled in metropolitan France after the end of World War II, he first lived in Paris. Then, he moved to Champigny-sur-Marne. He and his wife, Germaine, bought a second home in Bugeat and he would go to live there each summer.[43][46]
In 1997, Mimoun protested in the strongest terms against the decision of the Comité national olympique et sportif français (CNOSF) to remove the Gallic rooster from the jerseys of French athletes.[18]
For his successful running career and wartime military services, Mimoun received four
Mimoun was chosen as the French L'Équipe Champion of Champions in 1949 and again in 1956.[48]
In 1999, readers of the bimonthly, French athletics magazine Athlétisme voted him as the “French Athlete of the 20th Century”.[40]
On 25 Sep 2002 in Argenteuil, Mimoun inaugurated the 50th stadium bearing his name.[12]
In December 2012,
At the time of Mimoun's death, more than a hundred and fifty stadia, schools and streets bore his name. More than 50 municipal athletics stadia in France were named Stade Alain Mimoun and more than a dozen streets in France were named after him.[22][23]
Family and personal life
Mimoun's wife, Germaine, was born in Tulle, capital of the Corrèze département in the Limousin region in central France.[36][46] She died in May 2013.[20] Their first child, a daughter named Olympe, was born on 30 November 1956, one day before Mimoun won the 1956 Olympics marathon in Melbourne. They have another daughter, Pascale.[49]
Mimoun converted from
Honours
- Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (1956) awarded by René Coty
- Officier de la Légion d'honneur (1972) awarded by Georges Pompidou
- Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur (1999) awarded by Jacques Chirac
- Grand officier de la Légion d'honneur (2008) awarded by Nicolas Sarkozy
Others
- Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite.
- Commandeur de l’Ordre du Mérite sportif.
- Gloire du sport.
- Champion des champions de L'Équipe (L'Équipe Champion of Champions) (1949 and 1956)
- named French Athlete of the 20th Century in 1999
- Trophée de champion des champions de légende (2012)
Death, tributes and funeral
Alain Mimoun died at the age of 92 in the evening of 27 June 2013 at the Hôpital d'instruction des armées Bégin in Saint-Mandé, in the departement of Val-de-Marne in the Île-de-France region. The cause of death was not disclosed.[53]
In a communiqué made public by the Élysée Palace French President François Hollande wrote that Alain Mimoun was "a magnificent Frenchman" and "left a deep mark on the history of French sport". "Throughout his life, Alain Mimoun, who was born in Algeria, loved and served France. And he was very attached to his department of Corrèze," emphasized Hollande, who also has ties to the area.[8]
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault emphasized Mimoun's “exceptional victory” at the 1956 Olympics marathon and called him “a great servant of France who etched his name in the pantheon of French sport”. Ayrault concluded that “the death of Mimoun left France without one of her finest figures”.[54]
The French minister of sports,
Michel Jazy, a French Olympic runner who shared a room with Mimoun for six weeks during the 1956 Olympics, remembered seeing him show the intensity and professionalism in order to succeed at the Olympics. "Alain was a role model for me. He would wake me up at 5:30 in the morning to go and run, and in the evening he would force me to go to bed at 8:30. Even though we were at the Olympics Games, I could not go to the parties in the Olympic village!" Jazy told RTL radio on the day after Mimoun's death.[54]
The Comité national olympique et sportif français (CNOSF) described Mimoun as someone who "embodied selflessness and panache", "was devoted to the humanist values of sport" and "who would forever be among the sportspersons who had given French sport its finest hours". [56]
On 6 July 2013, a minute's silence in honour of Mimoun's memory was held in front of 50,000 spectators during the 2013 edition of the
Mimoun was accorded a state funeral will military honors. It was held on Monday, 8 July 2013 at 10am local time, in the main courtyard of the Hôtel national des Invalides in Paris. French President François Hollande presided over the ceremony, during which he paid homage to Mimoun. Retired French athletes like Stéphane Diagana, Michel Jazy and Marie-José Pérec attended the ceremony. In his eulogy, Hollande said,"Today, it is all of France which is paying homage to Alain Mimoun, to the one who ran throughout his life on the tracks of stadiums in order to make the La Marseillaise resound, seeking glory for his country everywhere." Hollande described Mimoun as "a courageous soldier, an exceptional sportsman and a fervent patriot" who was "loved by France" and stated, "To Alain Mimoun, France was a choice, a passion, a pride and an ideal."[58]
In the afternoon of 9 July 2013, Mimoun was buried in the cemetery in Bugeat after a religious ceremony in the Bugeat church. The funeral was attended by about sixty persons.[46]
Personal bests
- 5,000 metres– 14 min 7.58 sec (1952 Olympic Games 5,000 m final)
- 10,000 metres – 29 min 13.4 sec (1956)
- Marathon – 2 hr 21 min 25 sec (1958)
- Information from Sports Reference profile.[59]
Competition record
International (only the position in the final is indicated)
Mimoun competed internationally for France on 86 occasions.[10]
- International Cross Country Championships team event champion (representing France) in 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952 and 1956.
- North African Cross Country champion in 1942
National
- 5,000 m: 8 titles (1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955 and 1956)
- 10,000 m: 9 titles (1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956)
- Marathon : 6 titles (1958, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965 and 1966)[60]
- 6 titles (1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1956 and 1959)
References
- ^ "Alain Mimoun". olympic.org – Official website of the Olympic Movement. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "Alain Mimoun". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (30 June 2013). "Alain Mimoun, a Top Runner, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ Universalis, Encyclopædia. "ALAIN MIMOUN". Encyclopædia Universalis. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "Adieu Mimoun". www.sports.fr. 28 June 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0880119696.
- ^ a b "Athlétisme : Alain Mimoun est mort". Le Monde (in French). 28 June 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Alain Mimoun est mort". Libération and AFP. 28 June 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Athlétisme – Alain Mimoun, décédé à 92 ans, en bref (ENCADRE). Le Matin. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ a b c d e "Disparition d'Alain Mimoun". Le Figaro. 28 June 2013.
- ^ a b c d "L'athlète Mimoun est mort : portrait d'un converti". famillechrétienne.fr. 7 July 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Hommage : Alain Mimoun court toujours". Le Journal de la Haute-Marne. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ "Alain Mimoun: <<J'ai vu l'enfer à Monte Cassino>>". Le Figaro. 27 September 2006.
- ^ "L'athlète Mimoun est mort : portrait d'un converti" (PDF). Famille Chrétienne. 7 July 2013.
- ^ "Alain Mimoun – A legend". Globe Runner. 10 March 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ a b "Chassieu. Claude Jouve". Le Progrès. 2 July 2013.
- ^ "La dernière foulée d'Alain Mimoun". Paris Match. 28 June 2013.
- ^ a b c "Alain Mimoun, caporal de l'Armée d'Afrique et "Gaulois avant les Gaulois"". Le Matin. 28 June 2013.
- ^ a b Juck, Alfons (2013-06-28). French legend Alain Mimoun dies. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ a b "Alain Mimoun, un soldat olympique assoiffé de France". France24. 12 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Alain Mimoun, a Top Runner, Dies at 92". New York Times. 30 June 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Mason, Nick, (2012-06-28). Alain Mimoun obituary. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ a b Quand Mimoun dialoguait avec Zidane Archived 2018-02-12 at the Wayback Machine le JDD 25 March 2012.
- ^ Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's 10,000 metres. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's 5,000 metres. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ a b c IAAF World Crosscountry Championships. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ a b c The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics 1996 edition by David Wallechinsky
- ^ "Alain Mimoun, une carrière en images". FranceTVsport. 28 June 2013.
- ^ Athletics at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's 10,000 metres. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ Athletics at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Marathon. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ "Mimoun, mort d'une légende française". Europe1 and TV5 Monde. 28 June 2013.
- ^ Cobley, John. "Racing Past-1956 Olympic Games". Racingpast.ca. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "L'athlète français Alain Mimoun est mort". Corse-Matin. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
- ^ "Mort d'Alain Mimoun, vétéran et coureur de fond invétéré". CRIF. 8 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- ^ "Alain Mimoun, 1956 Olympic Marathon Champion, Dies at 92". Runner's World. 28 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Marathon. Alain Mimoun, légende du sport français, est mort". Ouest-France. 28 June 2013.
- ^ "Alain Mimoun". Olympic.org.
- ^ a b c "Alain Mimoun (1921.01.01)". Archived from the original on 2006-05-17. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). ICCU (archived). Retrieved on 2013-07-02. - ^ Alain Mimoun Archived July 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Rochefort Athletisme Club. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ a b "French legend Alain Mimoun dies". IAAF News. 28 June 2013.
- ^ "Alain Mimoun, la mort d'un amoureux de son sport". La Voix du Nord. 29 June 2013. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013.
- ^ "Alain Mimoun, une légende s'en est allée". RMC Sport. 28 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Bugeat Treignac Athlétisme". Le club d'athlétisme Bugeat Treignac. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14.
- ^ Décès d'ALAIN MIMOUN, l'Espace 1000 Sources en deuil Archived 2018-09-17 at the Wayback Machine (in French). Espace 1000 Sources. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ "Le centre sportif de Bugeat rebaptisé centre Alain Mimoun". FranceTV3. 5 July 2013.
- ^ a b c "Alain Mimoun a été inhumé cet après-midi à Bugeat en Corrèze". FranceTV3 Limousin. 9 July 2013.
- ^ Décès d’Alain Mimoun, monument du sport et morceau de l’Histoire de France Rue89 Sport 28 June 2013.
- ^ a b Mimoun, un champion français. L'Equipe (2013-06-28). Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ "Pascale Mimoun : "Un père exceptionnel"". L'Équipe. 8 July 2013. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013.
- ^ "December 1 - the day Mimoun's marathon quest for Olympic gold came good". Insidethegames.biz. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "Alain Mimoun, RIP". Chrétienté.info/Le Salon Beige. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013.
- ^ "Nécrologie. Alain Mimoun était très attaché à sainte Thérèse de Lisieux". Ouest-France. 28 June 2013.
- ^ "Mimoun, un champion français". L'Équipe. 28 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Athlétisme : Alain Mimoun est mort". Le Monde.fr. Le Monde and AFP. 28 June 2013.
- ^ "Alain Mimoun, légende de l'athlétisme français, est décédé à l'âge de 92 ans". Le Dauphiné libéré. 28 June 2013.
- ^ "Disparition d'Alain Mimoun: " Un très grand monsieur du sport" selon Jean-Claude Killy". Le Parisien. 28 June 2013.
- ^ "Hollande rend hommage au célèbre marathonien Alain Mimoun". Le Parisien. 8 July 2013.
- ^ "Hollande rend hommage à Alain Mimoun "un sportif exceptionnel"". Libération. 8 July 2013.
- ^ Alain Mimoun. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
- ^ French Championships. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.
External links
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alain Mimoun". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.