France

The 800-metre world record fell at the French Championships as the Olympic bells chimed. A new name, Séra Martin, according to a Finnish newspaper report, ran "in the most beautiful style" to a time of 1:50.6. The record held by German individualist Otto Peltzer was lowered by exactly one second. Jean Keller, who finished second, was more than five seconds behind.

Martin also used a questionable pacemaker who sped through the halfway mark in 52.8 Martin, drafting behind, was timed at 53.0 for the first lap. His second lap took 57.6.

The thermometer showed 37 degrees Celsius during the race. The heat barely bothered Martin, who was already accustomed to running laps under the Riviera sun in his hometown of Nice.

Another French middle-distance champion, Jules Ladoumègue, ducked Martin by running the 1500. The result was the second-fastest time in the world for the season, 3:52.2, just behind Olympic champion Harri Larva. "Beautifully and convincingly he strode in the boiling hot sunshine," described a Finnish newspaper in its report. Keller again finished second, although this time about ten seconds behind Ladoumègue.

Ladoumègue ran the first lap (500 m) at roughly the same pace as Paavo Nurmi at the Paris Olympics. However, the Flying Finn's second lap was devastating: the Frenchman fell four seconds behind Nurmi's split time.

Henri Dartigues defeated Lucien Duquesne in the steeplechase, who is best remembered from the heats of the Amsterdam steeplechase, where Paavo Nurmi helped Duquesne, who had fallen into the water jump.

In the high jump, Pierre Lewden, a bronze medalist from the Paris Olympics, a two-time English champion, and among Europe's best, lost to Claude Ménard, who had already defeated his compatriot a week earlier at the English championships. In Amsterdam, the experienced Lewden rallied once more and finished seventh, although Menard again placed ahead by clearing the height for bronze.

Jules Noël won the discus throw. Another discus thrower who would later be among Europe's best, Paul Winter, finished fourth. In Amsterdam, Noël lingered in the shadows and was eliminated from the final.