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 (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

at two

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and three

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Biography

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

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

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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

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. Noël won the British

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titles in the shot put and discus events at the British 1930 AAA Championships. 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 du ...

, 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

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'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, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

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

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, finishing seventh in the discus and tenth in the shot put. The

1936 Olympic Games 1936 Olympics may refer to: *The 1936 Winter Olympics, which were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany *The 1936 Summer Olympics, which were held in Berlin, Germany {{Short pages monitor