Guy Drut

Guy Drut (born 6 December 1950) is an Olympic champion and politician who won gold at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal in the 110 m hurdles.[2] In 1996, he became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).[3]

Guy Drut
Guy Drut c. 1973
Personal information
NationalityFrench
Born (1950-12-06) 6 December 1950 (age 73)[1]
Oignies, Pas-de-Calais, France[1]
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight74 kg (163 lb)[1]
Sport
Country France
SportAthletics
Event110 metres hurdles
Achievements and titles
Personal best110 mH – 13.0 & 13.28 (both 1975)[1]
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1976 Montreal110 m hurdles
Silver medal – second place1972 Munich110 m hurdles
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1974 Rome110 m hurdles
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place1972 Grenoble50 m hurdles
Bronze medal – third place1970 Vienna60 m hurdles
Bronze medal – third place1981 Grenoble50 m hurdles

Biography

Sports career

Born in Oignies, Pas-de-Calais, France, Drut captured the silver medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, finishing behind the American Rod Milburn. In the European Championship of 1974 Drut came a comfortable first. It was at the next Olympics that Guy was to realise his dream, winning the 110 m hurdles in a time of 13.30 ahead of Cuba's Alejandro Casañas and the American Willie Davenport.[1]

Political career

After retirement Guy became active in business and politics, with one of his roles being Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in the conservative government of Alain Juppé from 1995 to 1997.[1] He has been convicted by French courts (a 15-month suspended prison sentence) at the end of 2005 for accepting fictitious employment as political patronage; as a consequence suspended by the IOC.[4] In 2006, president Jacques Chirac amnestied Drut, using a rarely used clause in a 2002 amnesty law authorizing the president to grant amnesty for certain categories of crimes to people who had made great contributions to France in certain fields.The move caused great controversy, including within the majority members of Parliament: president of the National Assembly Jean-Louis Debré commented that it gave an unpleasant impression of "self-washing machine" but said it was a "courageous" move that he would not have made;Nicolas Sarkozy, president of the majority party UMP, disapproved such uses of amnesty. Chirac justified it by France's regaining a seat at IOC.

Drut is serving on the IOC's Evaluation Commission for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[5]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  France
1969European ChampionshipsAthens, Greece4th110 m hurdles14.08
1970European Indoor ChampionshipsVienna, Austria3rd60 m hurdles7.8
1971European ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland110 m hurdlesDNF
Mediterranean Gamesİzmir, Turkey1st110 m hurdles13.7
1972European Indoor ChampionshipsGrenoble, France1st50 m hurdles6.51
Olympic GamesMunich, West Germany2nd110 m hurdles13.34
1973European Indoor ChampionshipsRotterdam, Netherlands6th60 m hurdles9.22
1974European Indoor ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden3rd (h)60 m hurdles7.871
European ChampionshipsRome, Italy1st110 m hurdles13.40
1976Olympic GamesMontreal, Canada1st110 m hurdles13.30
1981European Indoor ChampionshipsGrenoble, France3rd50 m hurdles6.54

1 Did not finish in the final

References

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Men's 110 m Hurdles Best Year Performance
1974–1976
Succeeded by