Lucienne Velu-Chapillon, Mrs Odoul (born Lucienne Antoinette Velu; 28 January 1902 – 12 June 1998) was a French

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

and

basketball player Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...

. She was inducted into the

French Basketball Hall of Fame The French Basketball Academy ( French: Académie du basket-ball français) is a hall of fame that honors individuals (or whole teams) that have contributed to the spread and improvement of French basketball, through their sporting contributions, ...

, in 2011. She was born Paris and died in Quincy-sous-Senart.

Biography

Athletics

Velu held the world record in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

in September 1924 at Paris with a throw of 30.225 m, and she was 14 times champion of France for 7 national records (her last record stood for 22 years). Her rivals were two other Frenchwomen, Lucie Petit-Diagre, a double world record holder in the summer of 1924, with throws of 27.70 m and 28.325 m, and Yvonne Tembouret, who was the world record holder in September 1923 at Paris with a throw of 27.39 m. In the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

Velu was 8 times champion of France; her rival was

Violette Morris Violette Morris (18 April 1893 – 26 April 1944) was a French athlete and Nazi collaborator who won two gold and one silver medal at the Women's World Games in 1921–1922. She was later banned from competing for violating "moral standards". ...

. She was also the holder of three national records for 10 years and participated in the Olympic Games 1924, 1928 and 1936. She participated in the 1928 Olympic Games at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and placed fourth in the

4 x 100 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

(alongside Yolande Plancke, Georgette Gagneux and

Marguerite Radideau Marguerite Radideau (5 March 1907 – 14 March 1978) was a French sprinter and basketball player who participated in early women's international competitions. She won two gold, one silver, and one bronze at the 1926 Women's World Games and compe ...

). Finally, selected 24 times from 1923 to 1939 for French national teams, she won 43 titles as champion of France, including 33 senior championships for 47 podium visits. The events she won championships at were 80 (very close to the world record in 9 s 4), 100 and 200 meters, the discus, the shot put, relay (gold medal in the relay 4 × 200 m at the

Women's World Games The Women's World Games were the first international women's sports events in track and field. The games were held four times between 1922 and 1934. They were established by Alice Milliat and the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale ...

. In basketball (from 1928 to 1938) she won championships with the team Linnets (who won the first national championship). She was also part of the group that introduced

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

into France before the war.

Prize list

* 33 titles at Senior French Athletic Championships: ** 60 meters : 1934, 1935 and 1936 ** 80 meters : 1927, 1931, 1932 and 1933 ** 200 meters : 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930 ** Shot Put : 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935 and 1937 ** Discus throw : 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939 and 1942 * 7 silver medals at the Senior Athletics Championships France ** 80 meters : 1929 ** 100 meters : 1930 ** Shot Put : 1929, 1936, 1938 ** Discus throw : 1931, 1938 * 7 bronze medals at the Senior Athletics Championships France ** 60 meters : 1937 ** 100 meters : 1928, 1935 ** Shot Put : 1925, 1927, 1939 ** Discus throw : 1941

Records

World records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

: ** World record holder discus (30.225 m in 1924) * Records of France : ** 3 times record holder of France shot put ** 7 times record holder of France's discus throw ** 3 times record holder of France's 4 × 100 Metres Relay

Basketball

Later, Velu was captain of the French basketball team that became the first women's team to be world champions in French sport, beating United States 34–23 on 11 August 1934 at the 4th Women's World Games in London at White Hall. The winning team was Gilberte Flouret-Picot, Yvonne Santais, Velu, Simone Richalot de Reims and Jeannine Garnier from Strasbourg. In 1930 during the 3rd World Games, Velu had already won the bronze medal in basketball.

Prize list

French team

* World Champion 1934 (4th World Games); * 3rd at the 3rd World Games in 1930 (and 1st European team);

Linnet's Saint-Maur

* Seven-time champion France, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934 and 1938 (Then under the aegis of the FFBB.)

Distinctions

* female MVP of the

Sports Academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

in 1938 * Lifetime member of the

French Basketball Academy The French Basketball Academy ( French: Académie du basket-ball français) is a hall of fame that honors individuals (or whole teams) that have contributed to the spread and improvement of French basketball, through their sporting contributions, ...

under the 2012 promotion.

References

External links

Sport's Reference profile of Velu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velu, Lucienne 1902 births 1998 deaths French women's basketball players French female discus throwers French female shot putters French female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for France Basketball players from Paris Athletes from Paris Olympic female sprinters 20th-century French sportswomen