Colette Besson was born on 7 April 1946 in Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, Charente-Maritime, France. She died on 9 August 2005 in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France.
Olympic champion of 400m in 1968 in Mexico (French president Charles de Gaulle had said he had a tear for her victory!). She eventually held
the 400m World Record in the 1969 European Championship in Athens
(51.74).