Born in Haiti, Constantin Henriquez arrived in France in 1893 to study medicine. A keen sportsman, he played rugby as a number 8, wing and centre for both Olympique de Paris and Stade Francais, winning the French Championship in 1897, 1898 and 1901.
During the 1900 Olympic Games Henriquez became the first known black athlete to compete in the games when he played for the French Rugby team. As the French side went on to win the competition, he also became the first black athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics.
Later in life he co-founded the Union Sportive Hatienne with his brother and is credited with introducing the game of football to the country in 1904. By 1950 he had become Senator for Haiti.
He is featured in our Rugby and the Olympics exhibition, at the World Rugby Museum 2019-2020.
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