Denis Lathoud, 1995 handball world champion with the “Barjots”, died at the age of 59

For over thirty years, French handball teams have been so frequently present at major international competitions that we almost forget that there were pioneers. One of them, Denis Lathoud, died of cancer at the age of 59 during the night of Saturday, June 21 to Sunday, June 22, announced the president of the French federation, Philippe Bana.

Denis Lathoud was part of the "Barjots," the group of French players selected for the 1922 Barcelona Olympic Games and who, to everyone's surprise and with a joyful insouciance, won the bronze medal. This place of honor, in which Lathoud played a full part by being named the tournament's best left back, was—as the records attest—anything but a stroke of luck. Since the performance of the men led at the time by Daniel Constantini, the French teams, both women's and men's, have almost always been in a position to win the most prestigious titles.

Denis Lathoud added to his list of achievements with Les Bleus, becoming runner-up to the world championship in 1993 and then world champion in 1995. "The rock has left us. Rest in peace, brother. The whole of handball sends its condolences to the family. All in mourning," wrote Philippe Bana on X this Sunday. Between 1987 and 1996, Lathoud, with his colossal physique (1.98 m), wore the French team jersey 164 times, scoring 463 goals.

Born on January 13, 1966 in Lyon, Denis Lathoud was a professional handball player for 21 years, from 1984 to 2005. Playing for Vénissieux (1984-1992) and then Nîmes (1992-1994), he won two French championship titles, before signing for PSG-Asnières (1994-1997). After a less prolific last part of his career, Lathoud became a coach at SMV Porte Normande, the Vernon club (Eure). "Playing for so long for me, who was not a fan of forced labor, remains a great mystery," he explained to L'Equipe in 2009.

These new roles will take him throughout France (Limoges, Dijon and Strasbourg, in particular) as well as abroad, to Tunis, between 2015 and 2017. Since 2023, he has been coaching the La Crau club, in the Var.