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 contested at ...

. 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 ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, 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 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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 slight ...

, 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, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, where he won gold in the 100 metres and silver in both the 200 metres and the

4 × 100 metres 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

—he ran the first leg of the final and was followed by Jacques Perlot, Yves Camus and Jean-Pierre Guillon. His final major championships were the 1952 Olympics in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

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

Competition record

References

1923 births 2018 deaths Sportspeople from Vénissieux Athletes from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes French male sprinters Olympic athletes for France Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists 20th-century French sportsmen {{France-sprint-bio-stub