Jean-François Lamour (born 2 February 1956 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) is a French former fencer and current

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and cabinet minister. During his fencing career, Lamour achieved various athletic accomplishments, notably qualifying for the 1987 world championship. He earned two gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal in

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

Olympic events between 1984 and 1988. After retiring from fencing, Lamour entered politics and served as the sports and youth counselor to the

Mayor of Paris The mayor of Paris (, ) is the Chief executive officer, chief executive of Paris, the capital and largest city in France. The officeholder is responsible for the administration and management of the city, submits proposals and recommendations to ...

from 1993 to 1995. In 2002, he assumed the position of minister of sport, and later in 2004, he took on additional responsibilities for youth. Lamour is married to Dr. Isabelle Spennato, a former French fencer who currently holds the position of president of the French Fencing Federation.

Athletic career

Lamour began his

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

journey at the age of eight and attained his first notable win in 1971 at the French junior championship in Sabre

when he reached the age of 15. Four years subsequent to that achievement, in 1975, Lamour advanced to the semifinals during the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, which took place in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. Over the next few years, he broke the national record by winning the Champion of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

title 13 times between 1977 and 1992. During this time, he won a silver medal in the individual Sabre event at the 1983 Mediterranean Games. In the next year he achieved the gold medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. And later on in 1987, he became the World Champion in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

. In 1988, Lamour received the prestigious Master of Saber prize. A few months later, he won a second gold medal in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Under the guidance of his new coach, László Szepesi, who hails from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Lamour underwent further training as a part of the French national team. In 2002, Lamour took on the role of

's Minister of Sports.

References

External links

"For Future of Fencing" International Charity Fund website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamour, Jean-Francois 1956 births Living people Fencers from Paris French male sabre fencers Olympic fencers for France Fencers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Councillors of Paris Members of Parliament for Paris Fencers at the 1983 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games silver medalists for France Mediterranean Games medalists in fencing 20th-century French sportsmen