Jules Noël (27 January 1903 – 19 May 1940) was a French athlete who competed in discus and

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

at two European Athletics Championships and three

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Biography

Jules Noël was born on 27 January 1903 in Norrent-Fontes,

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.Jules Noël
Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 30 October 2011. He joined the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

and rose to the rank of Sergeant.

Career

After an impressive silver medal at the Championnats de France d'athlétisme, a competition in which he would achieve 19 medals including 13 golds over the next 12 years,Dupuy, Gérard
Les finalistes des championnats de France - 1888 à 1969
(The finals of the Championships of France - 1888 to 1969). 20 October 2011. Commission de la documentation et de l'histoire (Literature and History Commission). Accessed 30 October 2011. Noël was selected for the French Olympic discus team for the 1928 Games in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. Though he finished some way off the medal positions he went on to break the French discus record in the trials for the

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 ...

, throwing 49.44 m. He travelled to the Games in

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and led out the team in the opening ceremony as the French flag bearer.Ireland
Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 30 October 2011. The French team convinced the U.S. officials that wine was an essential part of their competitors' diets, receiving special permission to circumvent the prohibition in force across the country. Noël took full advantage of this and is reported as "swigging champagne with his compatriots" in the locker room between rounds at the discus event. There was then further controversy when Noël finished in fourth place: the officials in charge of the event disallowed a throw that is believed to have been farther than gold medal winner

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

's 49.39 m attempt. The throw was not accepted because the officials did not see where it landed, their attention being drawn to the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

ing competition instead. Noël was allowed an additional attempt but could not match his earlier performance, reaching 47.74 m and finishing fourth.Athletics at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Discus Throw
Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 30 October 2011.Cousineau, Phil. "The Olympic odyssey: rekindling the true spirit of the great games". 2003. ''Quest Books''. Anderson went on to improve his distance to 49.49 m, an Olympic record. Noël went on to compete at the inaugural European Athletics Championships in 1934 in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, finishing seventh in the discus and tenth in the shot put. The 1936 Olympic Games were held in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and Noël was again selected as the flag bearer for his country. Noël returned to European competition at the 1938 Championships 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 ...

, again finishing seventh in the discus and improving to ninth in the shot put.

Death

Noël died during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from a wound sustained during a battle outside

Escaudœuvres Escaudœuvres () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. History Escaudœuvres is famous for being the location of the sugar factory of the Sucrerie centrale de Cambrai. At the time of its construction, this was one of the b ...

near

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noel, Jules 1903 births 1940 deaths Sportspeople from Pas-de-Calais Athletes from Hauts-de-France French male discus throwers French male shot putters Olympic athletes for France Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics French Army soldiers French Army personnel killed in World War II