Henri Deglane (22 June 1902 – 7 July 1975) was a French wrestler. He was an Olympic champion in

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

and AWA World Champion. In May 1931, Deglane faced Ed "Strangler" Lewis for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in Montreal in a two-out-of-three falls match. After two falls, Deglane had feigned being bitten by Lewis, when in reality he had been bitten in the locker room. This led to Deglane being awarded the title via disqualification and a dispute over who was actually acknowledged as champion over the next two years. In 1933, Raoul Paoli, a French rugby player and all-round athlete, helped Deglane, his friend, to popularize professional wrestling in France. In 1933 the two men co-founded the FFCP. In July 1937 in Paris, France, Deglane lost his European Heavyweight Championship title to American Al Pereira. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame in 2013 for his accomplishments in professional wrestling.

Olympics

Deglane competed at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

in Paris and won a gold medal in

, the heavyweight class.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Association ''(Boston)'' ** AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

** Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2013)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deglane, Henri 1902 births 1975 deaths Sportspeople from Limoges Olympic wrestlers for France Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics French male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics French male professional wrestlers 20th-century French sportsmen