Noël Vandernotte
French cox who at the age of 12 won bronze with his team in the challenging 1936 Berlin Olympics
NOËL VANDERNOTTE, who has died aged 96, won two bronze medals at the Berlin Olympics in 1936, when he was only 12, coxing the French rowing team’s four and pair. All his life, Vandernotte retained vivid impressions of his Olympic adventure, which he recalled as opening up to him a new world of different people and languages in an era when foreign travel was much rarer for those like him whose family circumstances were modest.
He recalled playing belote, a card game, on the long train journey to Germany, the giant swastikas that lined Unter den Linden, and even catching a glimpse of Hitler as the Führer, standing upright, passed in his car.
Noël walked in the front row of the French team at the opening ceremony, behind the flag bearer, sporting his Basque beret and rather unaccustomed trousers; he still went to school in shorts. His age made him the object of much curiosity and he was frequently photographed.
But behind the scenes there was anxiety, as the four’s boat, which had been specially made for them in Paris in one piece rather than the usual three, had not arrived. It eventually did so a week late.
The four consisted of Noël’s two uncles, Fernand and Marcel Vandernotte, as well as Jean Cosmat and Marcel Chauvigné. Like Noël, they all rowed for the Nantes club, and as a crew had finished as runners-up in the European championships for the previous two years. This made them among the favourites for the event in Berlin, but the delayed arrival of their shell meant they only had two days to practise before their heat.
This they lost to Germany, the reigning Olympic champions, whom it soon became clear to Noël were in effect backed by the state to train full-time like professionals. In the repechage, however, France beat the USA and qualified for the final.
They received a bad draw for this, however, and were furthered hampered by the strong crosswind on the course. It began to rain heavily, too, but despite the unseasonable chill, Noël’s uncles forbade him from wearing a tracksuit as it would increase in weight once waterlogged. Instead, they rubbed oil on his legs to keep him a little warmer.
As it was, the diminutive Noël only weighed 5st 11lb and he had to sit with a bag of sand between his legs to make up the 2st in weight required by the rules. Though he did his best to steer a straight line, the conditions made it impossible for the French to row their usual race. Yet they were just able to fend off the Dutch and Hungarians and claim third place.
Shortly afterwards, still soaking wet, Noël had to go out and cox the pair – Marceau Fourcade and Georges Tapie – and duly won his second medal of the afternoon. The Germans triumphed in both events (though neither featured in Leni Riefenstahl’s film of the Games) and, despite the excitement he had experienced, Noël’s chief thought on returning home was to tell his friends that from what he had seen war was inevitable.
The youngest ever Olympic medallist is thought to be a French boy who, as a last-minute substitute, coxed the Dutch pair to gold at Paris in 1900. His identity was never established but from photographs his age is put at under 10. A 10-year-old Greek gymnast won a team bronze in 1896, although there were only three entries, an 11-year-old Italian girl gymnast won team silver in 1928, while a 12-year-old Danish girl swimmer was the youngest winner of a medal in an individual event, in 1936. Noël Vandernotte is believed, however, to be the youngest identifiable male to have won a medal against competition.
Etienne Noël Henri Vandernotte was born – as his name testified – on Christmas Day 1923 in Anglet, near Biarritz. That was his mother’s home town, his parents having met during the war. He grew up in Nantes, where his father was a workman, and began coxing at the age of eight.
During the war, his father joined the Resistance, helping downed Allied airmen along escape lines. He was eventually arrested and sent to prison in Germany. Noël had helped him by using his Olympic pass as an identity document which would distract German soldiers during checks, and accordingly he was forced to hide out under a false identity. He later served with the Free French forces as they entered Germany.
In 1946 Vandernotte again won the French rowing championship with the coxed four, although he failed to qualify for the London Olympics two years later. He subsequently made his career in insurance. He settled in the Gard and, having spent much of his spare time involved with sport, was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 2015.
His wife predeceased him and he is survived by their son.
Noël Vandernotte, born December 25 1923, died June 18 2020