Colette Besson, 59; Captured Gold Medal in 400-Meter Race in 1968
Colette Besson, 59, a French physical education teacher who scored an upset to win the 400-meter gold medal at the 1968 Olympics, died Tuesday of cancer, the French Olympic committee announced.
Besson, then a teacher from Bordeaux, beat favorite Lillian Board of Britain with a furious kick over the last 100 meters at the Mexico City games. Besson moved up from fifth place to beat Board, who had been leading the field, in 52.03 seconds. Board was second in 52.12.
Besson, along with Nicole Duclos, Michele Mombet and Eliane Jacq, shattered the 1,600-meter world record in 1969, shaving more than three seconds off the mark. The French team, again with Besson, broke the record once more in September of that year, a standard that stood until 1971.
Besson was born in Royan, France, on April 7, 1946. She was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2003.
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