Journalist Jean-René Godart, figure in the France Télévisions sports department, died at 74

The journalist retired in 2018 for health reasons and died at the age of 74 on Wednesday morning.

It is one of the great voices of cycling that is disappearing. Sports journalist for France Télévisions from 1994 to 2018, Jean-René Godart died at the age of 74 on Wednesday October 15, the France Télévisions sports department learned from his family. He notably covered 33 Tours de France between 1982 and 2015, 13 editions of the Olympic Games (summer and winter), as well as 21 Roland-Garros.

His career began at Europe 1 in 1974, and it was on the radio that Jean-René Godart first covered the Tour de France, in 1982. He joined France Télévisions in 1994, in the general news editorial department of France 2, to take care of the sports pages of the television news, before joining the sports department in 1999, where he covered numerous Grandes Boucles on a motorcycle. He also officiated in track cycling events, where he notably accompanied the exploits of the French Félicia Balanger, Grégory Baugé, Arnaud Tournant and Florian Rousseau. Having become editor-in-chief of the Sports department of France Télévisions, he had also written several works.

This great voice, which every sports fan has heard at least once, retired in 2018. He was made a Knight of the National Order of Merit in 1995 then an Officer of the National Order of Merit in 2011. “France Télévisions salutes the memory of Jean-René Godart, great voice of sport and emblematic figure of French sports journalismreacted the director of the sports department of France Télévisions, Laurent-Eric Lelay. Joining the group in 1994, he devoted more than twenty years to sharing his passion for cycling and bringing viewers to the sport's biggest events. A rigorous, passionate professional recognized for his unique phrasing, he has accompanied generations of French people at the heart of the epics of the Tour de France and many other competitions.
His voice, his commitment and his love of sport will remain engraved in our memory.“