Marion CLIGNET

Marion Clignet grew up in the United States but with dual citizenship, and in 1990 placed second at the US road race championships. However, she later competed for France, and had a superb career for her second country. On the road, Clignet helped France to a win at the 1991 World Championships in the team time trial. But it was on the track where she had her greatest success. In addition to her Olympic medals, Clignet won five gold medals and seven medals on the track at the Worlds. The golds were as follows: individual pursuit – 1994, 1996, 1999; points race – 1999-2000. Her other major palmares included a win in GC at the 1996 Tour du Finistère, and in the 2000 Route Féminine Du Vignoble Nantais. Clignet also won the 1999 World Cup in the individual pursuit and the points race. Clignet achieved all this despite overcoming epilepsy, which she was diagnosed with when she was 22-years-old. Clignet also has the very obscure Olympic trivia distinction of being the 54th-great-granddaughter of Roman Emperor Theodosius I who abolished the Ancient Olympic Games in 393 A.D.