Alphonse Foulon

Alphones Foulon started out as a cross-country runner who competed between 1905 and 1914 and was affiliated with the SAM (Société Athlétique de Montrouge), followed by the Racing Club de France. In January 1906, at 18-years-old, he notably won the Dezavis Challenge organized by the newspaper l’Auto, defeating Jacques Keyser, future French cross-country champion in 1907-08 and 1913-14. In other pre-war cross-country races, he competed regularly against Jacques Keyser (RCF) and Olympic medalists Gaston Ragueneau (SAM) and Jean Bouin. Foulon helped win the team event at the Military French Cross-Country Championship in 1909.

After World War I, Foulon turned to swimming and water polo after being recruited by his friend Georges Rigal, and worked for the French Swimming Federation as a water polo referee. He officiated at several water polo matches at the Paris 1924 and London 1948 Olympic Games. In 1932, he was president of the Paris Swimming Committee. He served as Secretary-General in 1927, and then Vice-President of the French Swimming Federation between 1932 and 1948.

In 1934, thanks to him, Alfred Nakache, with whom he had forged a very strong relationship, left Constantine, French Algeria to join the Racing Club de France in Paris. As Max Ritter (member of the International Swimming Hall of fame and president of International Swimming Federation) stated in 1948 upon Foulon’s death “The name of Alphonse Foulon will always be respected by all of us, having so greatly contributed to the prestige of our sport”. Foulon was made a Knight of the French Legion of Honor in 1938.