Gaston Antoine Mercier (5 June 1932 – 4 July 1974) was a French rower who competed in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, in the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

, and in the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. He was born in

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 1932 and rowed for Société d'Encouragement du Sport Nautique based in

Nogent-sur-Marne Nogent-sur-Marne () is a Communes of France, commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Nogent-sur-Marne is a ''Subprefectures in France, sous-préfecture'' of the Val-de-Marne ''Depar ...

. At the

, he was a crew member of the French boat that won the gold medal in the coxed pair event, with

Raymond Salles Raymond Julien Salles (18 July 1920 – 15 June 1996) was a French rower who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was born in Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,1 ...

and Bernard Malivoire as his team members. Four years later, he won the bronze medal with the French boat in the coxless four competition, teamed up with René Guissart, Yves Delacour, and Guy Guillabert. At the 1960 Games, he was part of the French boat that finished fourth in the eight event. At the

1961 European Rowing Championships The 1961 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Vltava (Moldau) in the Czechoslovakian capital Prague. The event for women was held from 18 to 20 August, and 9 countries competed with 32 boats. The event for men was he ...

, Mercier won a bronze medal with the eight. Mercier died of a heart attack on 4 July 1974 while riding his bike in

Bussières, Saône-et-Loire Bussières () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. See also * Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 565 communes of the Saône-et-Loire ...

References

1932 births 1974 deaths French male rowers Olympic rowers for France Rowers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics European Rowing Championships medalists 20th-century French people {{France-rowing-Olympic-medalist-stub