Pierre Quinon, the veteran Pole Vaulter from France commits suicide – Athletics news
Pie Quinon, the 49-year-old veteran Pole Vaulter from France, who was regarded among the standout names in French pole vaulting and whose performance was among the most cherished athletics events of 1970’s and 1980’s, committed suicide on August 17.
Born in Lyon, Quinon was an Olympic pole vault champion of 1984. The athlete got the limelight first in mid-1983, when for jumping a staggering 5.82m, he set the new world record. Interestingly, this was not all what he could produce as right after the day
he marked his world record, he became the first athlete who attempted to clear the bar as high as 6m. Though it could not be materialised by a significant margin, but yet, the effort of the athlete was lauded worldwide among his fans.
The record marked by the French proved to be short lived as within a week of when he made it, with a difference of one centimetre, it was claimed by another veteran pole vaulter, Thierry Vigneron.
Appearing on the track in the 1984 Olympic Games, the French successfully bagged the world title, while his traditional rival, Vigneron, ended up for a third place in the event. This was among the most interesting and exciting event of Quinon, not only because
he prevailed among the others, also because he was least expected to do so, and instead of him, the spectators were expecting of Vigneron to dominate the field.
In 1985, his personal best which stood at 5.82m was improved by a staggering 5.90m. However, despite doing so, he was about 10 centimetres behind the then standing world record.
Among other major achievements during the professional career of the French athlete, we have a silver medal at the 1984 European Indoor Championships, where again, he finished just behind traditional rival, Vigneron. On his sad demise, the world athletics
body, the French athletics federation and spectators of the vaulter world around mourned the loss. He was indeed a great champion and a greater player.
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