Ernest Blakelock Thubron

Ernest Blakelock Thubron, also known as Émile Thubron (15 July 1861) was an Anglo-French motorboat racer and an olympic champion. He was born in The Boldons, United Kingdom. He died in Tokomaru, New Zealand on 22 May 1927[1][2]

Ernest Blakelock Thubron
Medal record
Men's motorboat racing
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1908 London Open class
The Trèfle-à-Quatre powered by Brasier by Émile Thubron in 1904 (the motorboats in Juvisy) 1.jpg

He won the second running of the Harmsworth Trophy for motor powered boats in 1904 in Trefle-à-quatre. In 1898, Thubron was a Managing Owner of Boulac Engine Works, Cairo[3] and in 1906 he was still working as a boat constructor in Egypt.[4]

He competed with his boat Camille in Class A (the open class) at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, where he won a gold medal.[5][6] He finished the forty nautical miles in 2:26:53, and Camille was the only boat to finish that race.[7]

He retired in New Zealand.[8] His son was a Brigadier by the name Gerald Thubron OBE and his grandson Colin Thubron, a writer.

References

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  1. ^ The 1908 Olympic Games: results for all competitors in all events Bill Mallon, Ian Buchanan - 2000 -p201 "In race two, the Wolseley-Siddeley ran aground and did not finish, giving the victory to Camille. The "Yachting and Boating" volume (1916) in the British Sports & Sportsmen series states that Emile Thubron was British and that he entered his French-built boat for France in order to give an international flavour to the competition. Judging by his name, Emile Thubron's connection with France was probably stronger than the mere fact that Camille had been built there."
  2. ^ Olympic Follies: The Madness and Mayhem of the 1908 London Games Graeme Kent - 2008 p126 "former managed to maintain this standard by being unable to complete the second race in the class, after running up on to a mud spit, leaving the only other entrant, Emile Thubron of France in the Camille, the winner. In the second event, "
  3. ^ Transactions Royal Institution of Naval Architects 1898 "Mr. Ernest Blakelock Thubron, Managing Owner of the Boulac Engine Works, Cairo"
  4. ^ Bulletin des lois. Partie principale - Page 987 1907 "...... faite suivant acte en date du 12 juin 1906 i M. Ernest Blakelock Thubron ingénieur constructeur de bateaux, demeurant au Caire (Egypte). Kasr-ebDebarrsrh, par la Compagnie du carburateur Claudel dont le siège est a Paris, rue Taitbnnt, ..."
  5. ^ "1908 Summer Olympics – London, United Kingdom – Motor Boating" databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on April 6, 2008)
  6. ^ Floyd Conner, "The Olympics' most wanted : The top 10 book of gold medal gaffes, improbable triumphs, and other oddities" (Brassey's, Inc, 2001) ISBN 1-57488-413-1
  7. ^ "Ernest Blakelock Thubron". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  8. ^ Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office - Volume 418 - Page 1080 1932 "Ernest Blakelock Thubron, Napier, New Zealand. Piled Oct. 22, 1926, Serial No. 143,438, and in New Zealand Nov. 14, 1925. 2 Claims. (CI. 226—77.) "
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