Roger Rochard

Roger Rochard (20 April 1913 – 24 February 1993) was a French long-distance runner. He was the first French track and field athlete to become a European champion, winning the 5000 metres race at the 1934 European Athletics Championships in Turin, Italy.

Career As an 18-year-old, Rochard surprisingly won the 5000 m in the 1931 national dual meet between France and Britain, running 15:11.8. Later that summer, he also won in a dual meet against Germany, this time running 15:03.6. His best time that year was 15:01.6, which he ran in Paris on 25 October,

In 1932 Rochard broke 15 minutes for the first time, running 14:56.8; he was selected for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where he qualified for the final but did not finish it. His winning time, 14:36.8, was his personal best; he only missed out on the French record, set by Jean Bouin in his duel against Hannes Kolehmainen at the 1912 Summer Olympics, by one-tenth of a second. and the only one to do so in the inaugural 1934 meet.