Étienne Marcel Bally (17 April 1923 – 10 January 2018) was a French sprinter and a European champion over

100 metres 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 conteste ...

. He was born in

Vénissieux Vénissieux (; Arpitan language, Arpitan: or in the Lyonnais dialect) is a Communes of France, commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in eastern France. Geography Vénissieux is located on the sou ...

. Bally's first major competition was the 1946 European Championships held in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, where he finished fourth in the final of the 100 metres—his time was equal to that of the bronze medalist,

Carlo Monti Carlo Monti (24 March 1920 – 7 April 2016) was an Italian athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres. He won two medals, one individual and one relay, in List of international athletics championships and games, international athletics compe ...

. He also competed at the

1948 Olympics 1948 Olympics may refer to: *The 1948 Winter Olympics, which were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland *The 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an internation ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he reached the quarter final of the

200 metres 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 ...

, but he failed to finish his heat of the 100 metres. Bally's achieved his greatest success at the 1950 European Championships in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, where he won gold in the 100 metres and silver in both the 200 metres and the 4x100 metres—he ran the first leg of the final and was followed by Jacques Perlot,

Yves Camus Yves Roger Maurice Camus (born 13 May 1930) is a French former sprinter who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics and in the 1956 Summer Olympics. He was born in Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loir ...

and Jean-Pierre Guillon. His final major championships were the

1952 Olympics 1952 Olympics refers to both: *The 1952 Winter Olympics, which were held in Oslo, Norway *The 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the X ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, where he reached the quarter finals of both the 100 metres and the 200 metres and finished fifth in the final of the 4x100 metres.

Competition record

References

1923 births 2018 deaths People from Vénissieux French male sprinters Olympic athletes of France Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Sportspeople from Lyon Metropolis {{France-sprint-bio-stub