Athletes
- André the Giant, professional wrestler
- Sarah Abitbol, pairs figure skater (with S. Bernadis); World Figure Skating Championship bronze
- Tariq Abdul-Wahad, basketball player (born Olivier Saint-Jean)
- Luc Alphand, Alpine skier
- Jacques Anquetil, cyclist
- Fabien Barthez, football player
- Marion Bartoli, tennis player
- Fabrice Benichou, world champion super bantamweight boxer
- Stéphane Bernadis, pairs figure skater (with S. Abitbol)
- Alain Bernard, Olympic swimmer
- Serge Betsen, Cameroon born French citizen, rugby player
- Serge Blanco, Venezuela born French citizen, rugby player
- Jean Bloch, Olympic silver football player
- Louison Bobet, cyclist
- Surya Bonaly, figure skater
- Andrée Brunet & Pierre Brunet, 1928 & 1932 Olympic skating Gold Medalists
- Alain Calmat, figure skater, Olympic silver, World Championship gold, silver, 2-time bronze
- Philippe Candeloro, figure skater
- Eric Cantona, football player
- Georges Carpentier, world champion boxer
- Marcel Cerdan, world champion boxer
- François Cevert (born "François Goldenberg"), Formula One driver
- Eugène Christophe, cyclist
- Albert Clément (c.1878-1907) motor racing driver
- Robert Cohen, world champion bantamweight boxer
- Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, tennis player
- Eugène Criqui, world champion boxer
- Jean Cruguet, jockey of Seattle Slew
- Richard Dacoury, basketball player
- Pierre Darmon, tennis player, highest world ranking # 8
- Émile Delahaye, race car pioneer
- Abou Diaby, football player
- Boris Diaw, basketball player
- Marcel Desailly, Ghana born French citizen, football player
- David Douillet, judo
- Yves Dreyfus, épée fencer, Olympic bronze medal, French champion
- Isabelle Duchesnay & Paul Duchesnay, ice dancers
- Andre Ethier, Major League Baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Patrice Evra, football player: Monaco + Manchester United
- André Fabre, horse trainer
- Laurent Fignon, cyclist
- Jeremy Flores, surfer
- Just Fontaine, football player
- Jacques Fouroux, rugby union player and coach
- Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, slalom canoer, Olympic bronze (K-1 slalom), 5 golds at ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships (2-time K-1, 3-time K-1 team)
- Pierre Galle, basketball player and coach
- Camille du Gast, race car driver
- Lucien Gaudin, fencer
- Yoann Gourcuff, football player
- Stéphane Haccoun, boxer
- Rudy Haddad, football player
- Alphonse Halimi ("La Petite Terreur"), world champion bantamweight boxer
- Marlène Harnois (born 1986), taekwondo practitioner
- Thierry Henry, football player
- Bernard Hinault, cyclist
- Cristobal Huet, hockey player
- Constant Huret, cyclist
- Olivier Jacque, motorcycle rider
- Rene Jacquot, boxer, underdog who became world champion
- Laurent Jalabert, cyclist
- Max Jean, Formula One driver
- Brian Joubert, figure skater
- Jean-Claude Killy, skier
- Raymond Kopa, football player
- Pascal Lavanchy, ice dancer (with S. Moniotte)
- Suzanne Lenglen, tennis player
- Alexandre Lippmann, épée fencer, 2-time Olympic champion, 2-time silver, bronze
- Bixente Lizarazu, football player
- Sébastien Loeb, rally driver and 5-time champion
- Jeannie Longo, cyclist
- André Mahé, cyclist
- Claude Makélélé, football player: PSG
- Laure Manaudou, swimmer
- Amélie Mauresmo, tennis player
- Jose Meiffret, cyclist
- Éric Millot, figure skater
- Alain Mimoun, athlete
- Sophie Moniotte, ice dancer (with P. Lavanchy)
- Carole Montillet, skier
- Armand Mouyal, épée fencer, Olympic bronze, world champion
- Alfred "Artem" Nakache, swimmer, world record (200-m breaststroke), one-third of French 2-time world record (3x100 relay team)
- Claude Netter, foil fencer, Olympic champion, silver
- Hellé Nice, pioneer female race car driver
- Joakim Noah, NBA basketball player (Chicago Bulls)
- Yannick Noah, tennis player
- Micheline Ostermeyer, Olympic champion in discus and shot put, bronze in high jump
- Tony Parker, Belgian born French citizen, basketball player
- Gwendal Peizerat, ice dancer
- Marie-José Pérec, athlete
- Mary Pierce, Canadian-born French citizen, tennis player
- Stéphane Peterhansel, car and motor racer, 9 time Dakar Rally winner
- Julien Pillet, fencer
- Michel Platini, football player
- Alain Prost, Formula One driver and 4-time champion
- Antoine Rigaudeau, basketball player
- François Rozenthal, ice hockey player
- Maurice Rozenthal, ice hockey player
- Georges Stern, jockey
- Jean Stern, épée fencer, Olympic champion
- Léon Théry
- Marcel Thil, world champion boxer
- Christophe Tiozzo, world champion boxer
- Fabrice Tiozzo, world champion boxer, Christophe's brother
- David Trezeguet, football player
- Patrick Vieira, Senegal born French citizen, football player
- Richard Virenque, Morocco born French citizen, cyclist
- Roger Walkowiak, cyclist
- Jean-Pierre Wimille, race car driver
- Zinedine Zidane, football (soccer) Player
Read more about this topic: List Of French People
Famous quotes containing the word athletes:
“The quality of American life is an insult to the possibilities of human growth ... the pollution of American space, with gadgetry and cars and TV and box architecture, brutalizes the senses, making gray neurotics of most of us, and perverse spiritual athletes and strident self-transcenders of the best of us.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)
“To read well, that is, to read true books in a true spirit, is a noble exercise, and one that will task the reader more than any exercise which the customs of the day esteem. It requires a training such as the athletes underwent, the steady intention almost of the whole life to this object.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)