Philippe Boccara (born July 6, 1959) is a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

-born American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 sprint canoer

Canoe racing

This article discusses canoe sprint and canoe marathon, competitive forms of canoeing and kayaking on more or less flat water. Both sports are governed by the International Canoe Federation ....

 who competed from the late 1970s to the early 2000s.
He appeared in six Olympics for France (1980 to 1992) and the United States (1996, 2000).

He won a bronze medal for France in the K-4 1000 m event at the 1984 Olympics with teammates François Barouh

François Barouh

François Barouh is a French sprint canoer. He competed from the late 1970s to the mid 1980s.Competing in two Summer Olympics, Barouh won a bronze medal in the K-4 1000 m event at Los Angeles in 1984.-References:*...

, Pascal Boucherit

Pascal Boucherit

Pascal Boucherit is a French sprint canoer who competed from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the K-4 1000 m event at Los Angeles in 1984....

, and Didier Vavasseur

Didier Vavasseur

Didier Vavasseur is a French sprint canoer.-Career:Vavasseur competed in the 1980s. Participating in two Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the K-4 1000 m event at Los Angeles in 1984.-References:*...

.

Boccara also won six medals for the French at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with four golds (K-1 10000 m: 1990

1990 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1990 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Poznań, Poland on Lake Malta.The men's competition consisted of eight Canadian and nine kayak events. Five events were held for the women, all in kayak....

, K-2 1000 m: 1985

1985 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1985 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Mechelen, Belgium.The men's competition consisted of six Canadian and nine kayak events. Three events were held for the women, all in kayak....

, K-2 10000 m: 1987

1987 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1987 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Duisburg, West Germany for the second time. The West German city hosted the championships previously in 1979....

, 1991

1991 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1991 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Paris, France.The men's competition consisted of eight Canadian and nine kayak events. Five events were held for the women, all in kayak...

), a silver (K-2 1000 m: 1987), and a bronze (K-1 1000 m: 1990).

In 2000, he became the first canoeist to compete at six Olympics. This was matched four years later by German-born Italian Josefa Idem-Guerrini

Josefa Idem

Josefa Idem Guerrini is a West German-born Italian sprint canoer. Competing in seven Summer Olympics, she has five medals...

 and German Birgit Fischer

Birgit Fischer

Birgit Fischer is a kayaker, who has won eight gold medals over six different Olympic Games, a record she shares with Aladár Gerevich, spanning seven Olympiads: twice representing East Germany , then four times representing the reunited nation...

. (Idem-Guerrini went on in 2008 to become the first canoeist to compete at seven Olympics.)

He is the first French-born athlete to compete at six Olympics. This was matched by legendary French cyclist Jeannie Longo

Jeannie Longo

Jeannie Longo is a French racing cyclist, multiple French champion and 13 times world champion. Longo is still active in cycling as of 2011 and is widely considered one of the greatest female cyclists of all time...

in 2004 and surpassed by her in 2008.