PARIS 2024. JOseph Guillemot, first Olympic gold medalist from Limousin

The only French Olympic champion in the 5000 meters, Joseph Guillemot is the first Limousin, before the wrestler Henri Deglane in 1924 and the judoka Cyril Jonard in 2004, to have won Olympic gold. It was in 1920, in Antwerp. Ardent publishers have just published a book on the history of this glory, which has fallen into oblivion.

Who still knows Joseph Guillemot? Born in Dorat in 1899, he was the first Limousin to have won an Olympic title. It was August 17, 1920, in Antwerp, Belgium, in the 5,000 meters.

An exploit and the story of a man recounted in a book “Joseph Guillemot – Mémoires”, written by Christophe Laguzet.

He too is a child of Dorat. Passionate about sport, he was delighted with the victories of the Olympic champion and, for his book, he did research, interviewed residents, the family of his childhood hero, and carried out real investigative work.

He has guided me all my life

“Beyond pleasing me, he guided me all my lifesays Christophe Laguzet to explain his attachment to Joseph Guillemot. How can we get to this level, at this time?“, he marvels.

Christophe Laguzet remembers when his uncle Jean Villette spoke to him about young Joseph, once an apprentice in the family pastry shop. We were then talking about little Joseph (J.Guillemot was 1m60 tall) and big Joseph, the master of the place.

But for Joseph Guillemot, baking is not really a vocation, analyzes Christophe Laguzet, rather an obligation. His parents sell fish, the social environment is quite modest. The eldest of eight children, he left school to enter an apprenticeship.

In 1918, he was called up to the flag and, in the Joinville battalion, his physical abilities were quickly noticed. He competes in his first races. In 1919, he was military cross country champion, then French champion in the 5,000 meters the following year. He multiplies national titles, but the most glorious remains the Olympic title.

On August 17, 1920, Joseph Guillemot won gold in the 5,000 meters. To everyone’s surprise, he beat the Finnish favorite Paavo Nurmi. He is in the lead, but over the last few meters, Joseph Guillemot, bib 329, accelerates and emerges. He crosses the finish line in the lead. A feat. Which could have been repeated the next day, but fate intervened.

He celebrates his 5,000 meter victory at the restaurant for lunch. His next race is at 5 p.m., it’s the 10,000 meter final, but at 1:30 p.m., in the middle of the banquet, they come to inform him that the race has moved forward. He has not yet finished his meal when he is told that departure is a quarter of an hour later.

In 1974, in a television program, Joseph Guillemot said:

Arriving at the stadium, I noticed that I had been relieved of a pair of spikes. We couldn’t find a pair of pointe shoes that fit me in the French clan.

Then “I took my suitcase and arrived at the stadium, I noticed that I had been relieved of a pair of spikes. We could not find a pair of spikes that fit me in the French clan. I was lent a pair with two extra sizes. I had to look for socks that I put on my feet, something I never did. In addition to this, tape to hold my shoes. of this, big double American pins to hold my panties, because my stomach was bloated.”

The race is difficult, but the little Limousin hangs on “Nurmi took me 20 meters, and I ended up not even 50 cm from him.”

If there had been 1 meter more, I would have won the event

The same year, Joseph Guillemot was therefore Olympic champion in the 5,000 meters and Olympic vice-champion in the 10,000 meters.

Physical prowess, but Joseph Guillemot also makes an impression with his character, it is said of him that he has the character of a pig.

He defends himself: “I never had a bad temper, far from it. But I was a gentleman because of hearing everyone talk, I said “you’re telling me nonsense”, that’s why I was told I had a pig’s face.”

A strength of character that allows him to win his races, admires Christophe Laguzet “He only does it his way. He trains the way he wants. Working for the team is good, but he is free in the way he thinks about things, and we can see that he is very opinionated, a fighter.“

A character that has earned him more than just friends in athletics. Little by little, he leaves the discipline, especially since he is an amateur, so he needs to work.

During his career, he lived in Lyon, or in Paris, where he opened a café, Olympe. He regularly returns to Dorat, his hometown, to find his brothers and sisters.

A town that will never forget it. On June 4, 1967, he kicked off the football match between the French military team and the LFC, a meeting to inaugurate the stadium in his name.

In 1974, finally retired, he occupied his house in Oradour-Saint-Genest. A year later, he died there, “5,000 meters from his birthplace”, notes Christophe Laguzet. He is buried there. A palm tree and Olympic rings were placed on his grave, the ultimate tribute to a legendary champion.