Jeannie Longo (born 31 October 1958) is a French

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

, 6-time French champion and 13-time world champion. Longo began racing in 1975 and was active in cycling through 2012. She was once widely considered the best female cyclist of all time, although that reputation is now clouded by suspicion of doping throughout her career. She is famous for her competitive nature and her longevity in the sport – when she was selected to compete for France in the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

, it was her seventh Olympic Games; some of Longo's competitors that year had not yet been born when she took part in her first Olympics in 1984. She had stated that 2008 would be her final participation in the Olympics. In the Women's road race, she finished 24th, 33 seconds behind winner Nicole Cooke, who was one year old when Longo first rode in the Olympics. At the same Olympics, she finished 4th in the road time trial, just two seconds shy of securing a bronze medal. She is currently number two on the all-time list of French female summer or winter Olympic medal winners, with a total of four medals including one in gold, which is one less than the total number won by the fencer

Laura Flessel-Colovic Laura Flessel-Colovic (born 6 November 1971) is a French politician and épée fencer who served as Minister of Sports from 2017 to 2018. Born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, she has won the most Olympic medals of any French sportswoman, with ...

Early life

Longo was born in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

, in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

Career

Longo began her athletic career as a downhill

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International ...

. After winning the French schools' ski championship and three university skiing championships, she switched to cycling at the urging of her coach (and later husband) Patrice Ciprelli. Within a few months, Longo won the French road race Championship at the age of 21. She competed both in

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

and track bicycle racing events, and is an Olympic gold-medalist and thirteen-time world champion.

Doping affairs

In September 1987 Longo tested positive for ephedrine following a 3 km world record attempt in

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. She served a 1-month ban for this offense. In September 2011, it was reported that Longo had missed three doping tests and was under investigation by the FFC. Normally, this would be penalized the same as a positive test, but AFLD had failed to notify Longo that she would be targeted for testing in that year, there was therefore no further action taken. It subsequently transpired that Longo's husband, Patrice Ciprelli, had purchased the performance-enhancing drug EPO from China via former American professional cyclist Joe Papp. Ciprelli confessed and claimed that he purchased the EPO for his own personal use. He was found guilty in May 2016, and given a 1-year suspended jail sentence and €12,800 in fines and costs.

Palmarès

Track

Note: Beginning in 1997, the

Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale (; UCI; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing licenses to riders and enforces di ...

awarded points to riders based on their performances. For this purpose, the races were classified. Although the system has evolved, the major stage races are category 1 (strongest) and 2. In the listings below, these categories, where known, are in parentheses. GC stands for general classification. ;1981 :3rd UCI Track World Championship (Individual pursuit) ;1982 :3rd UCI Track World Championship (Individual pursuit) ;1983 :2nd Summer Universiade Track Championship (Individual pursuit) :3rd UCI Track World Championship (Individual pursuit) ;1984 :2nd UCI Track World Championship (Individual pursuit) ;1985 :2nd UCI Track World Championship (Individual pursuit) ;1986 :1st Jersey rainbow

UCI Track World Championship (Individual pursuit) ;1987 :2nd UCI Track World Championship (Individual pursuit) ;1988 :1st Jersey rainbow

UCI Track World Championship (Individual pursuit) ;1989 :1st Jersey rainbow

UCI Track World Championship (Points race) :1st Jersey rainbow

UCI Track World Championship (Individual pursuit) ;1998 :1st MaillotFra

French Track Pursuit Championships

Mountainbike

;1993 :2nd UCI Mountain Bike Championship

Road

;1979 :1st MaillotFra

French Road Race Championship ;1980 :1st MaillotFra

French Road Race Championship ;1981 :1st MaillotFra

French Road Race Championship :2nd World Road Race Championships ;1982 :1st MaillotFra

French Road Race Championship ;1983 :1st MaillotFra

French Road Race Championship :3rd Summer Universiade Road Race Championship ;1984 :1st MaillotFra

French Road Race Championship ;1985 :1st Jersey rainbow