Étienne Marcel Bally (17 April 1923 – 10 January 2018) was a French sprinter and a European champion over

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

. He was born in

Vénissieux Vénissieux (; Arpitan: or in the Lyonnais dialect) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Geography Vénissieux is located on the southern outskirts of Lyon. Toponymy The name ''Véni ...

. Bally's first major competition was the 1946 European Championships held in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, where he finished fourth in the final of the 100 metres—his time was equal to that of the bronze medalist, Carlo Monti. He also competed at the

1948 Olympics 1948 Olympics may refer to: *The 1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gi ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he reached the quarter final of the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

, but he failed to finish his heat of the 100 metres. Bally's achieved his greatest success at the 1950 European Championships in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, where he won gold in the 100 metres and silver in both the 200 metres and the 4x100 metres—he ran the first leg of the final and was followed by

Jacques Perlot Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

Yves Camus Yves Roger Maurice Camus (born 13 May 1930) is a French former sprinter who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics and in the 1956 Summer Olympics. He was born in Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loir ...

and

Jean-Pierre Guillon Jean-Pierre or Jean Pierre may refer to: People * Karine Jean-Pierre b.1977, White House Deputy Press Secretary for President Joe Biden 2021- * Jean-Pierre, Count of Montalivet (1766–1823), French statesman and Peer of France * Eugenia Pierre ( ...

. His final major championships were the 1952 Olympics in

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, where he reached the quarter finals of both the 100 metres and the 200 metres and finished fifth in the final of the 4x100 metres.

Competition record

References

1923 births 2018 deaths People from Vénissieux French male sprinters Olympic athletes of France Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Sportspeople from Lyon Metropolis {{France-sprint-bio-stub