Ernest Blakelock Thubron, also known as Émile Thubron (15 July 1861) was an Anglo-

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

motorboat racer and an olympic champion. He was born in

The Boldons The Boldons is an area made up of the three villages of East Boldon, West Boldon and Boldon Colliery in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. In 2001 they had a population of 13,271. Lying within the historic boundaries of Co ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He died in

Tokomaru, New Zealand Tokomaru is a small town in the district of Horowhenua, in the southwestern North Island of New Zealand. It is located 18 kilometres southwest of Palmerston North, and a similar distance northeast of Shannon. The Tokomaru railway station on ...

on 22 May 1927 He won the second running of the

Harmsworth Trophy The Harmsworth Cup, popularly known as the Harmsworth Trophy, is a historically important British international trophy for motorboats. History The Harmsworth was the first annual international award for motorboat racing. Officially, it is a cont ...

for motor powered boats in 1904 in ''Trefle-à-quatre''. In 1898, ''Thubron'' was a Managing Owner of ''Boulac Engine Works'',

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and in 1906 he was still working as a boat constructor in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He competed with his boat ''Camille'' in ''Class A'' (the open class) at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he won a gold medal."1908 Summer Olympics – London, United Kingdom – Motor Boating"
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on April 6, 2008)Floyd Conner, "The Olympics' most wanted : The top 10 book of gold medal gaffes, improbable triumphs, and other oddities" (Brassey's, Inc, 2001) He finished the forty nautical miles in 2:26:53, and ''Camille'' was the only boat to finish that race. He retired in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

.Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office - Volume 418 - Page 1080 1932 "Ernest Blakelock Thubron, Napier, New Zealand. Piled Oct. 22, 1926, Serial No. 143,438, and in New Zealand Nov. 14, 1925. 2 Claims. (CI. 226—77.) " His son was a Brigadier by the name Gerald Thubron

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

and his grandson

Colin Thubron Colin Gerald Dryden Thubron (born 14 June 1939) is a British travel writer and novelist. In 2008, ''The Times'' ranked him among the 50 greatest postwar British writers. He is a contributor to ''The New York Review of Books'', ''The Times'', '' ...

, a writer.

References

External links

Emile Thubron's profile at Sports Reference.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thubron, Emile French motorboat racers Motorboat racers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic motorboat racers for France Olympic gold medalists for France 1861 births 1927 deaths Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics