Montbéliard (France) (AFP)
Real racing beast, the talent of Jacky Boxberger had aroused the wildest hopes in the late 1960s, at the dawn of a full career but ultimately more modest than expected.
France discovered this muscular and powerful runner at the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968 where he snatched 6th place in the 1,500m at only 19 years old!
It is the golden age of the car and Jacky, a rough diamond, is hatched by his trainer Gaston Pretot in the formidable club of Sochaux, funded by the powerful Peugeot firm around which the whole region is organized.
A motorcycle accident on his return from Mexico City earned him a knee operation and cut his momentum. His career will never reach the heights hoped for.
However, he became European indoor champion of 1,500 m (1972), beat the French record of 5,000 m for the great Michel Jazy, and held multiple titles of champion of France (track, cross and road).
Jacques, his real first name, is illustrated in particular in the discipline which has become obsolete in cross country, at the time extremely popular (9th at the Worlds in 1976), and inherits the nickname of "Monsieur Figaro" for his seven victories in the very famous daily cross.
Arrived probably 30 years too early, he is very criticized by the press, accused of running the premiums on the road, then frowned upon compared to the track.
Capable of running three events, including a marathon, during the same weekend, he set his record for the legendary distance in 1985 by winning the Paris marathon for the second time (2:10:49). In the past ten years, only six French people have gone faster.
Jacky Boxberger participated in a total of four editions of the Olympic Games (1968, 1972, 1976 and 1984), with the Los Angeles marathon as the last race, finishing at a modest 42nd place in 2:22:00. A fortnight earlier, he would have participated in secret from his trainer in another marathon ...
The idol of Montbéliard has a tragic fate: at 52 years old, he was killed on August 9, 2001 by an elephant in front of his youngest son Jérémy during a trip to Kenya.
© 2020 AFP