France competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, between 27 July and 12 August 2012. French athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era. The French Olympic Committee sent a total of 330 athletes to the Games, 183 men and 147 women, to compete in 24 sports.
France left London with a total of 34 medals—11 gold, 11 silver, and 12 bronze—finishing seventh in the gold medal standings and eighth in the overall medal standings.[1] Most of these medals were awarded to the athletes in judo, cycling, and swimming. Six French athletes won more than a single Olympic medal in London. France's team-based athletes proved successful at these games, as the men's national handball team and the women's national basketball team won gold and silver medals, respectively. Furthermore, the men's national handball team managed to defend its 2008 Olympic title from Beijing. For the first time since 1960, France did not win an Olympic medal in fencing.
Among the nation's medalists were Yannick Agnel and Camille Muffat (retired in 2014 and killed tragically in a helicopter crash one year later), who emerged as France's most successful Olympic swimmers after winning three medals, including a gold, in their events. Meanwhile, Florent Manaudou succeeded his sister Laure with an Olympic gold medal in freestyle swimming.[2]Renaud Lavillenie set a new Olympic record in the pole vault, becoming the third French man to claim the title, and the first to do so since 1996. Tony Estanguet won his third gold medal in the men's slalom canoeing singles, making him one of the most successful French athletes in Olympic history.[3] On 11 August 2012, Estanguet was elected to the IOC Athletes' Commission, along with three other athletes.[4]
1.12345 Competed in preliminaries but not the final relay.
2.2 In May 2014, the US 4 × 100 metres relay team member Tyson Gay received a one-year suspension for anabolic steroid use and was stripped of his medals after 15 July 2012 when he first used.[5] In May 2015, the IOC wrote to US Olympic Committee telling them to collect the medals from teammates Trell Kimmons, Justin Gatlin, Ryan Bailey, Jeffery Demps and Darvis Patton.[6] Two of Gay's teammates who ran with him in the final, Kimmons and Bailey, had previously also served suspensions. The medals were reallocated, with Trinidad and Tobago awarded silver, and France taking bronze.[7][8]
Returning French medallists greeted on the Champs-Élysées on 13 August 2012.
Delegation
The French Olympic Committee selected a team of 330 athletes, 183 men and 147 women, to compete in 24 different sports; it was the nation's third largest team outside the host nation, and the first with the highest percentage of women in Olympic history. France did not qualify teams in field hockey, volleyball and water polo, but did mark its Olympic return to men's basketball after a twelve-year absence.
The French team included past Olympic champions, three of them defending (Greco-Roman wrestler Steeve Guenot, mountain biker Julien Absalon, and the men's national handball team). Equestrian eventing rider Denis Mesples, at age 49, was the oldest athlete of the team, while gymnast Anne Kuhm was the youngest, at age 15. Pistol shooter and former Olympic gold medalist Franck Dumoulin made his sixth appearance, having participated at every Summer Olympics since 1992. Épée fencer and multiple-time Olympic medalist Laura Flessel-Colovic, meanwhile, became the first French female athlete to compete at five separate Olympic Games. Because of her repeated successes in fencing, Flessel-Colovic became France's first female flag bearer at the opening ceremony since 1996.
Other notable French athletes included slalom canoer and multiple-time world champion Tony Estanguet, judoka and Olympic bronze medalist Teddy Riner, swimmer and junior European champion Yannick Agnel, pole vaulter and multiple-time European champion Renaud Lavillenie, and basketballer Tony Parker, who had previously played for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
The following table lists the number of French competitors who participated in each Olympic sport. Note that reserves in fencing, field hockey, football, and handball are not counted as athletes.
French athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):[9][10]
Key
Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
Q = Qualified for the next round
q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
France participated in the 2012 Olympics as the defending world men's handball champion, and successfully defended its gold medal from the 2008 Summer Olympics.[23] The French women's team qualified through the World Qualification Tournament.
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage
French swimmers achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of two swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and one at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):[42][43]
France qualified six Olympic tennis players in 2012: four in the men's events and two in the women's events. France ultimately won two medals – one silver and one bronze – in the men's doubles.
^"TEAM STANDINGS"(PDF). FEI. 28 August 2011. Archived from the original(PDF) on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
^"France – Squad List". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
