Jump to content

Jacques Cariou

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jacques Cariou
Jacques Cariou at the 1912 Olympics
Personal information
Born23 September 1870
Peumérit, France
Died7 October 1931 (aged 61)
Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France
MonumentPeumerit Terre de jeux à Jacques Cariou
OccupationSoldier
EmployerFrench Army
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
SpouseMarie Bezançon
Sport
CountryFrance
SportEquestrian: dressage, show jumping, eventing
Medal record
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1912 Stockholm Individual jumping
Silver medal – second place 1912 Stockholm Team jumping
Bronze medal – third place 1912 Stockholm Individual eventing

Jacques Cariou (23 September 1870 – 7 October 1931)[1][2] was a French show jumping champion and military officer. Cariou participated at the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, where he won a gold medal in the individual jumping, a silver medal in team jumping with the horse Mignon, and a bronze medal in individual three-day eventing with the horse Cocotte.

Biography

[edit]

Cariou was born in 1870 in Peumerit, Brittany.[3] Cariou spent his early years as a teacher and horsemanship instructor,[2] but later would go on to join the Army. He would eventually rise to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.[4] Early in his military years, he was awarded France's Order of Agricultural Merit as well as a foreign award from Belgium, but it is not known how he came to be awarded these honors.[5]

1912 Olympics

[edit]
Cariou and Mignon pictured at the Olympic Games

Cariou was selected by the Army to represent France at the 1912 Olympic Games. During the games, Cariou participated in all three equestrian disciplines. He placed 14th individually in the dressage competition on Mignon. He would win an individual gold medal in the jumping competition and help the French team to win the silver medal in the team competition. Riding Cocotte, he won an individual bronze medal in the eventing competition.[6][7]

World War 1

[edit]

After the Olympics, he returned to the Army. France shortly would become embroiled in World War I. In 1915, he led a battalion in the Battle of Champagne where he was gassed. His actions as the leader of his unit would later earn him a knighthood of the Legion of Honour.[8]

Later life

[edit]

He remained with the Army, and would later be honored as an officer of the Legion of Honour for his later work as a military officer.[9]

Cariou died on 7 October 1931.[10]

Legacy

[edit]

Prior to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, Cariou's hometown of Peumerit honored their former Olympic champion with a commemorative plaque in the town center, and named the local sports arena after him.[11][12]

Honors

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Jacques Cariou's Archived 13 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference.com
  2. ^ a b "Quand Jacques Cariou de Peumerit décrochait l'or aux Jeux olympiques". Le Télégramme (in French). 29 May 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Peumerit honore la mémoire de l'enfant du pays, Jacques Cariou, triple médaillé olympique 1912". Le Télégramme (in French). 3 June 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  4. ^ "CARIOU Jacques / Jean (1870 – 1931) France / Équitation" (in French). 5 August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e Image 18 https://www.leonore.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/ui/notice/66400#show
  6. ^ "1912 Summer Olympics – Stockholm, Sweden – Equestrian" databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on 5 September 2008)
  7. ^ "Jacques Cariou". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Olympic Fever: France's Marvellous Medal Winners". FEI.org. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  9. ^ a b Image 2 https://www.leonore.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/ui/notice/66400#show
  10. ^ Image 3 https://www.leonore.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/ui/notice/66400#show
  11. ^ "En cette année olympique, la Municipalité de Peumerit a honoré l'un des siens, Jacques Cariou, devenu champion olympique en équitation en 1912". Michel CANEVET (in French). 2 June 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Hommage à Jacques Cariou et jeux inter-quartiers. Peumerit 2024 : date, horaires, programme, tarifs". jds.fr (in French). Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Cariou, Jacques (1870-1951)". FranceArchives (in French). Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  14. ^ Image 4 https://www.leonore.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/ui/notice/66400#show