Laurent Vidal (18 February 1984 – 10 November 2015) was a French professional

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between ...

, three time French Champion (2009, 2011 and 2012) and two time Olympian. In

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

he placed 36th while he took the 5th place in

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Vidal was one of the most consistent performers in the International Triathlon Union Circuit, consistently improving years after years. Laurent Vidal spent his life between

Sète Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises ...

, France and

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand, the hometown of his fiancée

Andrea Hewitt Andrea Hansen (née Hewitt, born 4 April 1982) is a New Zealand triathlete who placed third at the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championships and competed at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. Biography Hewitt was born in Christchurc ...

. Vidal had a bachelor's degree in Sports Management.

Sports career and Death

At his ITU debut in Hungary, Vidal became European Vice Champion (Junior), and one year later in 2003 he placed fourth at the World Championships (Junior) in New Zealand. In 2008, he represented France at the Olympic Games (36th), in 2010 he won the Oceania Championships, and in 2011 he placed 7th at both European and World Championships. In 2012, he started the year winning the Geelong (Australia) Oceania Cup and the opening round of World Cup Circuit in Mooloolaba ( Australia), followed by a bronze medal at the first World Championship event in Sydney (Australia). In June 2012, he became leader of the ITU Point List for the first time of his career. In London Olympic Games he crossed the line in 5th position. He finished 2012 with a win the prestigious ''GARMIN Alpen-Triathlon'' in Schliersee, a 3rd national title and placed 7th at world champs. After a long post Olympic break, Vidal finished 2013 ranked number 7 in the World Triathlon Series ranking, his 4th top 8th since 2009 in this ranking. In 2013 he also won the Kinloch (NZL) Oceania Cup, the ''GARMIN Alpen-Triathlon'' in Schliersee repeating his 2012 performance. In France, Vidal took part in the prestigious French Club Championship Series and, represented ''TC Lievin''. In Germany, Vidal was among the international guest stars of ''EJOT Team Buschhütten,'' which he represented in the ''Bundesliga''. Vidal was a member (caporal) of the French Military Triathlon Team ''(Equipe de France),'' whose basis is the ''Ecoles militaires de Draguignan'' (EMD). In April 2014 Vidal suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest whilst swimming in Sète, which led to his being placed in an induced coma. As a result, he was forced to retire from competition and focus on his role coaching Hewitt. On 10 November 2015, Vidal died at the age of 31 after cardiac arrest at his home in Gigean, Hérault, France.

ITU competitions

In the nine years from 2002 to 2010, Vidal took part in 53 ITU competitions and achieved 25 top ten positions. The following list is based upon the official ITU rankings and the ITU ''Athletes's Profile Page.''See http://archive.triathlon.org/zpg/zresults-ath-dtl.php?id=Mzk2# . Retrieved 24 August 2011. Unless indicated otherwise, the following events are triathlons (Olympic Distance) and refer to the ''Elite'' category. DNS = did not start · DNF = did not finish · BG = the sponsor British Gas

Notes

External links

Vidal's Official Website
in French and English
French Triathlon Federation
in French
Laurent Vidal's exclusive sports news
in French {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Laurent People from Sète 1984 births 2015 deaths French male triathletes Triathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Triathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic triathletes of France Sportspeople from Hérault 20th-century French people 21st-century French people