Font-Romeu (1964–1972): A Review of the Social Conditions Behind the Creation of an “International” Sports Center

Abstract

In the mid-1960s, how did a small French mountain village become a high performance international Olympic training center? This article intends to answer this question by examining the social conditions behind the center’s creation. The sporting and political context of the Olympic Games in Tokyo (1964) and Mexico (1968) proved fertile ground for the rationalization of sports through stabilizing a medical and sporting administration and implementing a stronger scientific framework. From this perspective, the medicalization of athletic performance in the 1960s played a central role in the conversion of Font-Romeu, transformed from an acclimatization station in the early 1960s into a renowned international altitude training center just a few years later. The article will take a comprehensive look at the construction and management of such a center, and how it became a game changer in the international movement of sportspersons and sports-related personnel the world over.