Sportspeople from Pas-de-Calais

Georges_Carpentier

Georges Carpentier (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ kaʁ.pɑ̃ˈtje]; 12 January 1894 – 28 October 1975) was a French boxer, actor and World War I pilot.
A precocious pugilist, Carpentier fought in numerous categories. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908 to 1926. A French professional champion on several occasions, he became the European heavyweight champion before the First World War. A sergeant aviator during the Great War, he was wounded before returning to civilian life. He then discovered rugby union, playing as a winger.
On his return to the ring in 1919, "le grand Georges" ("the great Georges" in English) he was celebrated as a symbol of a sporting powerhouse France, via performances in Great Britain and the United States of America. His knockout victory over Battling Levinsky on 12 October 1920 in Jersey City in the United States earned him the title of world champion. A defeat by Jack Dempsey the following year nevertheless strengthened his legend and brought him worldwide fame. This defeat marked the decline of his career, punctuated by the controversial loss of his titles to Battling Siki.
Nicknamed the "Orchid Man", he stood 5 feet 11+1⁄2 inches (182 cm) and his fighting weight ranged from 147 to 175 pounds (67 to 79 kg).Later notable performances included a defeat by Gene Tunney. Carpentier ended his career in 1926, but remained a leading figure in French boxing. Appointed ambassador for French sport abroad after the Second World War, in which he took part in the French Air Force, Carpentier died of a heart attack in 1975. A decade after his death, the Parisian Sports Arena in the 13th arrondissement of Paris was renamed Halle Georges-Carpentier after him. Along with Marcel Cerdan, he remains one of France's best boxers.

Jacques_Accambray

Jacques Accambray (born 23 May 1950) is a French former track and field athlete.
A talented age group thrower, Accambray set a world junior record in men's hammer throw in 1969. During the early 1970s he studied at Kent State University in Ohio, winning NCAA championship titles in both hammer throw and weight throw. He represented France as a hammer thrower at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics, as well as at the European Championships of 1969, 1971, 1974 and 1978. From 1985 to 1996 he was President of the French American Football Federation.

Apo_Lazaridès

Apo Lazaridès (16 October 1925 – 30 October 1998) was a French champion cyclist.
Born Jean-Apôtre Lazaridès in Marles-les-Mines, Pas-de-Calais of Greek ancestry (he became French in 1929). During the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Lazaridès used his cycling to transport supplies to the French Resistance. Apo had an older brother, Lucien Lazaridès, also a cyclist.
Nicknamed "Apo", a short version of his middle name, he competed in races throughout France during the war. In 1946 Lazaridès finished fifth in the "Ronde de France", then won the most important competition of the year, the "La Course du Tour de France", a 1316 km race from Monaco to Paris. This was organised by the group who took charge of organisation of the Tour de France.
In the 1947 Tour, Lazaridès finished tenth but captured second overall in the mountain class. In 1948, he finished ninth and went on to take second place in the world championship. He retired in 1955 and moved to Cannes, where he was president of the Étoile Sportive de Cannes."
Lazaridès died in Cannes in 1998 and was buried there in the Cimetière du Grand Jas.

Jose_Beyaert

José Beyaert (1 October 1925 – 11 June 2005) was a French professional cyclist who competed during the 1940s and 1950s, and was the 1948 Olympics road race champion. Beyaert moved to Colombia in 1952 and lived there for several years where he was the coach to the national cycling team. He also competed in the Vuelta a Colombia which he won on his first attempt in 1952. He finished second the following year and eighth the year after. He also rode in the 1950 Tour de France and finished 47th overall.