Roger Bambuck (born 22 November 1945 in Pointe-a-Pitre,

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

) is a French former sprinter and politician.

Athletic career

Bambuck took part in his first Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964. At the 1966 European Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, he won the gold medal in the 200 m and in the 4 × 100 m relay, as well as the silver medal in the 100 m. He competed in the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

held in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

in the 100 metres (finalist) and in the 4 x 100 metre relay where he won the bronze medal with his team mates

Gérard Fenouil Gérard Fenouil (born 23 June 1945) is a former athlete from France who mainly competed in the 100 metres. Born in Paris, he competed for France in the 1968 Summer Olympics held in Mexico City, Mexico, where he won the bronze medal in the 4 x ...

Jocelyn Delecour Jocelyn Delecour (born 2 January 1935) is a retired French sprinter. He competed in various sprint events at the 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1964 in the 4×100 metre relay, together with Paul Genevay, Bernard La ...

and

Claude Piquemal Claude Piquemal (born 13 March 1939 in Siguer, Ariège) was a French athlete who mainly competed in the 100 metres. He competed for France in the 4 x 100 metre relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, where he won th ...

. In the 100 and 200m. individual men's final he finished fifth with times of 10.16 and 20.51 seconds respectively. Earlier in 1968 he had equalled

Armin Hary Armin Hary (, ; born 22 March 1937) is a retired German sprinter who won the 1960 Olympic 100 meters dash. He was the first non-North American to win the event since Percy Williams of Canada took the gold medal in 1928, the first man to run 10 ...

's eight-year-old European record of 10.0 seconds. He retired from sprint after the Mexico games, aged 23.

Political life

In the mid-eighties, he became head of sport for the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Épinay-sur-Seine Épinay-sur-Seine (, literally ''Épinay on Seine'') is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The church of Notre-Dame-des-Missions-du-cygne d'Enghien, designed by Paul Tournon, may be found ...

. From 1988 to 1991, he was minister of Youth and Sports under

Michel Rocard Michel Rocard (; 23 August 1930 – 2 July 2016) was a French politician and a member of the Socialist Party (PS). He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 1991 during which he created the ''Revenu minimum d'ins ...

. He then held senior positions in the civil service. He is an active

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Personal life

Bambuck set out to study medicine but dropped out. He then worked a time for the automobile manufacturer

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

, before his athletic career. Bambuck has been married to former track and field athlete

Ghislaine Barnay Ghislaine Barnay (born 8 October 1945 in Fort-de-France, Martinique) is a former French athlete who specialises in the women's high jump. Barnay competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Biography Ghislaine Barnay won three French National Athle ...

since 1974. He had the honour of starting the 24-hour Le Mans race.Le Mans.org
accessed 12 December 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bambuck, Roger 1945 births Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Guadeloupean male sprinters French male sprinters Olympic athletes of France Olympic bronze medalists for France Living people French people of Guadeloupean descent European Athletics Championships medalists French Freemasons Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) People from Pointe-à-Pitre