Louis Balsan (22 October 1911 – 22 May 1982) was a French

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobs ...

der who competed in the 1930s. He later became a writer in the 1950s, discussing his involvement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

and the history of

mountain climbing Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. He was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Bobsleigh career

Competing in two

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

, Balsan earned his best finish of ninth in the four-man event at

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

. At the 1932 Winter Olympics he and

Daniel Armand-Delille Daniel Armand-Delille (28 July 1906 – 8 April 1958) was a French bobsledder who competed in the early 1930s. At the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in th ...

finished eleventh in the two-man event

Other activities

Balsan was later arrested by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

in 1942 during

for participating in resistance activities. He was taken to Mauthausen and then Loibl Pass, until the 8th Army (UK) liberated the area in 1945. He wrote a testimony of his life in concentration camps in Le Ver Luisant. Other books written by fellow prisoners include Karawanken (memoirs of Gaston Charlet) and The Tunnel (a novel based on the author's experiences). the history of mountain climbing in the Pyrennes. Balsan died in 1982.

References

External links

1932 bobsleigh two-man results1951 article written by Balsan

1911 births 1982 deaths Sportspeople from Paris Olympic bobsledders for France French male bobsledders Bobsledders at the 1932 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 1936 Winter Olympics French mountain climbers French Resistance members Mauthausen concentration camp survivors 20th-century French memoirists 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French sportsmen {{France-bobsleigh-bio-stub