225 years contributing to sport

It is not only in science that Polytechniciens have made their mark. There have also been a number of former Polytechnique students who have achieved notoriety in sport. Jean Borotra (X 1920) made a name for himself on the tennis courts. A winner of the Wimbledon and Roland-Garros tournaments, along with Henri Cochet, René Lacoste and Jacques Brugnon he was one of the so-called "four musketeers". In team sports, Yves du Manoir (X 1924) was a rugby international. The Olympic Stadium in Colombes was named after him, as was the Challenge Yves du Manoir, a national rugby union competition. Finally, Laurence Grand-Clément (X 1997) is a noted rower with several exploits to her name. She began by crossing the Atlantic in 64 days with 3 other rowers, then made the fastest totally autonomous tandem row across the Indian Ocean, in just 85 days.