Valéry André Théard (28 June 1905 – 25 June 2003) was a Haitian sprinter. He competed at the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

and

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

in individual 100 m and 200 m events, but failed to reach the finals.

Biography

Théard was the son of a Haitian diplomat, head of protocol in Haiti, descended from an old family from the south of

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

. He received a good education at the Saint-Louis de Gonzague Institution which enabled him to join the School of Public Works of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, in order to obtain an engineering degree. He played football for the Haitian Youth Sports, then started athletics in 1924 after winning the 100 meters of the Haitian championships in 11 seconds. He participated in three consecutive Olympics with his friend

Sylvio Cator Sylvio or Silvio Paul Cator (October 19, 1900 – July 21, 1952) was a Haitian athlete most successful in the long jump. Biography Born in Cavaillon, Haiti, Cator was a footballer who played for the Trivoli Athletic Club and the Racing ...

. In 1924, during the Paris Games, he distinguished himself on the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

by winning the 17th and last series in 23 s 6, allowing him to qualify for the quarter-finals. He finished the race in 4th place out of six participants, won by the future gold medalist

Jackson Scholz Jackson Volney Scholz (March 15, 1897 – October 26, 1986) was an American sprint runner. In the 1920s, he became the first person to appear in an Olympic sprint final in three different Olympic Games. After his athletic career, he also gained ...

. In spring 1925, he resumed competition and won an 80 meters at Porte-Dorée stadium, then the Prix Blanchet in front of

Maurice Degrelle Maurice Degrelle (28 June 1901 – 30 April 1987) was a French sprinter. He competed at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, ...

. He won meetings in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

and

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

then finished second in the English championship behind Loren Murchison. Member of CASG, he takes part in the speed criterion of

Pershing stadium Stade Pershing () was a multi-purpose stadium in the Bois de Vincennes in Paris, France. It was used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and hosted the final of the Coupe de France on four occasions. It hosted the Inter-Allied Games in ...

where he competed with

André Moulon André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

and won the 100 yards and the 100 meters improving his time in 10 s 6, which corresponded to the Olympic record set by Harold Abrahams in Paris. At the end of August, he equalled the French record for the 150-meter Mourlon in 16 s 1. His performances made him one of the most visible athletes in Europe. He brought his record the following year to 10.5 to 100 meters and 22 s to 200 meters. In 1927 and 1928, he twice won the title of world champion universitaire over 100 meters.Focus on a National University Sport Federation
on the official website of the '' International Federation of University Sports '', 2010 At the

Amsterdam Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

in 1928, he finished second in his series on

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

behind the German Georg Lammers. Despite a time of 10.9 in the quarterfinals, he failed to qualify for the semi-finals, finishing 3rd, beaten by the Canadian Percy Williams and the British

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

. Three days later, he failed in the 100-meter qualifications. He also competed in 1932 Olympics in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in the 100 meter event but only finished 4th in his series with a modest time of 11 s 4. He ended his sports career and became treasurer of the Union of Haitian Sports Societies. In 1934, he founded the literary and political review "La Nouvelle Haiti". In 1937, he began a civil servant career as an accountant at the Ministry of Finance. He rose through the ranks to become undersecretary of state in various cabinets before being appointed Minister of Commerce in 1957, then Minister Finance until 1959.

Honors

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

: ** Gold medal over 100 meters in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1927 and

in 1928

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Theard, Valery 1905 births 2003 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Haitian male sprinters Olympic athletes for Haiti Sportspeople from Port-au-Prince Finance ministers of Haiti