Lucienne Velu

French sportswoman Lucienne Velu had success as both a track and field athlete and as a basketball player. Velu won multiple French athletics titles, set national and world records, and won several basketball tournaments. During her athletics career she won more than 30 French titles, with her first gold medal coming in the discus throw in 1925. She dominated in the event for more than a decade, winning 12 titles from 1926 to 1939 and finishing second in 1931 and 1938, before winning her final discus title in 1942. Velu also won multiple French titles in the 60 metres (1934–36), 80 metres (1927, 1931–33), 200 metres (1927–30), and shot put (1928, 1930–35, 1937). She set a world record in the discus in 1924, in addition to setting multiple French records in the discus, shot put, and 4 x 100 metres relay. Velu finished tenth in the discus at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, and just missed out on a medal at the Games when she came fourth in the 4 × 100 metres relay. At the 1936 Berlin Olympics she finished a disappointing 14th in the discus.

Velu was also a very skilled basketball player who represented Linnet’s Saint-Maur and the French national team. With the national team she won the World Championship that was contested as part of the 1934 Women’s World Games in London, England. Playing for Linnet’s Saint-Maur she won seven French championships from 1928 to 1938. In 2012 Velu was inducted into the French Basketball Hall of Fame.

Personal Bests: 100 – unknown; DT – 37.81 (1932).