Joël Bouzou (born 30 October 1955) is a former French athlete and World Champion of modern pentathlon in 1987. Bouzou is the President of the

World Olympians Association The World Olympians Association (WOA) is an independent association of Olympic Games competitors. Its stated objectives are to promote the Olympic ideals and fair play, advance environmental protection, educate against doping and drug use, supply ...

Biography

Sports career

Bouzou grew up in

Auch Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony. Geography Localization Hydrography The Riv ...

, in a sporting family. His father was a PE teacher and Joël participated in many different sports, so that he naturally discovered

Modern Pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

. He participated in four Olympic Games (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992) and won the team bronze medal in 1984. He won the Modern Pentathlon World Championships in 1987, beating

Milan Kadlec Milan Kadlec (born 13 October 1974 in Uherské Hradiště, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech former racing cyclist, who competed both on the road and the track. In 2010, he won the bronze medal in the UCI Track Cycling World Championships points race. ...

. He is currently Vice-President of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne. A member of the Executive Committee for the World Olympians Association (WOA) from 2003 to 2008, Bouzou also founded a French association Rassemblement par le Sport (Together through Sport) with the aim of helping to socially integrate young people living in volatile suburbs in France through sport.

Peace and sport

Bouzou is President and Founder of a global initiative called

Peace and Sport Peace and Sport, also known as "L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport" is a neutral and independent organization based in the Principality of Monaco and under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco. Peace and Sport work in areas across ...

L'Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport founded in 2007 to promote the use of sport to foster dialogue and reconciliation everywhere where it's needed. Peace and Sport, is a neutral international organization based in the Principality of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

and placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H.

Prince Albert II of Monaco Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005. Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...

Distinctions and other activities

In France, Bouzou is an Officer in The National Order of Merit and decorated with the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

, one of the highest civil distinctions of the French Republic. He also holds the Gold Medal for Youth and Sport (in France) and the Silver Medal for Youth and Sport (in Monaco). In March 2010 he was awarded a Honoris Causa Doctorate in Humane Letters from the

University for Peace The University for Peace (UPEACE) is an international university and intergovernmental organization. The university was established as a treaty organisation by the United Nations General Assembly in 1980. Each year, the University for Peace se ...

in recognition of "his unique worldwide leadership role in promoting peace and mutual understanding among different cultures, and his leadership of organizations devoted to these objectives". He is also an advisor to H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. In December 2011, Bouzou was elected president of the World Olympians Association on a four-year term. He was re-elected in 2015 for another four-year term unopposed. In 2020, was again re-elected as President of World Olympians Association after standing unopposed at the 2020 WOA General Assembly.

Sports career

Olympic Games

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

: ** Individual, 17th ** Team, 7th *

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

: ** Individual, 8th ** Team, 4th *

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, 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' ...

: ** Individual, 17th ** Team, Bronze Medal *

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

: ** Individual, 20th ** Team, 5th

World Championships

* Individual **

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, Gold Medal **

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, Bronze Medal * Team **

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, Bronze Medal **

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, Bronze Medal

References

External links

Joël Bouzou sur France Olympique
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouzou, Joel Living people 1955 births People from Auch French male modern pentathletes Olympic medalists in modern pentathlon Olympic bronze medalists for France Modern pentathletes at the 1980 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 1984 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 1988 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Presidents of the World Olympians Association Sportspeople from Gers