Daniel Morelon
Daniel Morelon in 2011
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| Born |
24 July 1944 Bourg-en-Bresse, France |
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| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 79 kg (174 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Cycling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Daniel Morelon (born 24 July 1944) is a retired French racing cyclist who was active between 1963 and 1980. He is a triple Olympic champion, eight times world champion, and a knight of the Legion d'Honneur. Morelon was a police officer before becoming a cycling coach.
Morelon came into cycling after going to races with his two brothers. He said:
He joined the Vélo Club Bressan at 15. He won 11 races in the youth class and came second nine times out of 25 races. He came third in the national youth championship on the road and moved to the track after a training session in Paris.
Morelon was called up to the army in November 1963. He joined the national sports institute, INSEP, and began training at an international level.
Morelon and Trentin were matched for the bronze medal in the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964. Trentin was unsettled by his disqualification against the Italian, Pettenela, in the semi-final and lost to Morelon after forcing him to a third ride.
The opposition between Trentin and Morelon continued until 1966. Trentin specialised in the kilometre, taking the world championship in 1966. Morelon took the sprint championship. The two then combined to ride the tandem sprint. Trentin said: "I'm the second fastest in the sprint and the fastest in the kilometre. Who's going to beat us on a tandem?
Morelon took the world title the following year, again ahead of Trentin, but despite Trentin's confidence they failed in the tandem final.
The 1968 Olympic Games were at altitude in Mexico. Trentin, suffering from the height, saw Morelon record the best kilometre time in training. The team manager, Louis Gérardin, nevertheless named Trentin for the event and he won in a world record. Two days later, Morelon easily won the sprint against Giordano Turrini. Two days later, Trentin and Morelon won the tandem.
Morelon took his third world title in 1969 and a silver on the tandem. He repeated the performance in 1970, but with Gérard Quintyn as tandem partner. Trentin and Morelon teamed up again for the tandem in 1971, and took the bronze. Morelon won his fifth sprint title.
Morelon was favourite at his third Olympic Games. He disposed of the Australian John Nicholson in two rides, although the second needed a photo-finish. Morelon took further world titles in 1973 and 1975.
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Wikipedia