Pierre Quinon (20 February 1962 – 17 August 2011) was a
pole vault
Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...
er from
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
800 metres
The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...
pole vault
Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...
ing career at the Rhodia Club Omnisports (
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...
section), which is based in the town of
Salaise-sur-Sanne
Salaise-sur-Sanne () is a Communes of France, commune in the Isère Departments of France, department in southeastern France.
Population
Notable people
* Jeanne Bouvier
See also
*Communes of the Isère department
References
Comm ...
Isère
Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.
). Pierre's father coached him at that club. Pierre did his first pole vaulting training session in the
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
of Saint-Priest under the supervision of his coach, Christian Bourguignon, who was from Lyon. He made his pole vault competition debut in 1976, at the age of 14, in the town of
Le Péage-de-Roussillon
Le Péage-de-Roussillon (, literally ''The Tollbooth of Roussillon'') is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.
Le Péage-de-Roussillon has a train station on the line from Lyon to Valence.department of
Isère
Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.
). He became the French national champion at the youth level (under the age of 18 years) in 1979. He burst onto the scene at the national level in 1981 thanks to a height clearance of 5.50 metres outdoors. He won the silver medal at the 1981 European Junior Championships in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
by clearing a height of 5.30 metres. In 1981, Quinon joined the
Racing Club de France
Racing Club de France, also known as RCF, is a French multi-sport club that was founded on 20 April 1882 under the name Racing Club.
Racing Club changed its name to Racing Club de France (RCF) on 21 November 1885. The club is located at the Bois ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and trained there on a group basis with
Patrick Abada
Patrick Abada (born 20 March 1954 in Paris) is a retired French pole vaulter and Olympian, having competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics. His best vault was one of 5.70 m, made on 26 August 1983, in Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussel ...
,
Jean-Michel Bellot
Jean-Michel Bellot (born 6 December 1953) is a retired male pole vaulter from France. He was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner ...
and
Thierry Vigneron
Thierry Vigneron (born 9 March 1960 in Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine) is a retired French pole vaulter. In the 1980s, he was among the world's leading pole vaulters. He broke the world record in the event four times and was the last man to hold ...
(a former pole vault world record holder), all under the supervision of Jean-Claude Perrin, who was a member of the club's coaching staff.
Quinon's participation at the inaugural 1983 World Championships in
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
was a flop; he did not manage to clear a single height in his three attempts. This was to be Quinon's only appearance in an outdoor or indoor World Championships.
On 28 August 1983, during an athletics meeting in the German city of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, Quinon set a new pole vault outdoor world record of 5.82 metres, beating Vladimir Polyakov's 26-month-old outdoor world record by one centimetre. On that day, immediately after winning the pole vault contest, Quinon became the first pole vaulter to attempt to clear 6.00 metres in an official athletics meeting. Although Quinon failed by a significant margin, his coach Jean-Claude Perrin told the French media that Quinon "did not make a fool of himself". "To be alone in front of a bar (in an attempt to set a new world record after having won the contest) was not a fun thing. I preferred fighting the other competitors," Quinon would say later, regarding his failed, world record attempt of 6.00 metres in Cologne. However, Quinon's outdoor world record was very short-lived. On 1 September 1983, in the Italian capital
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, his countryman
Thierry Vigneron
Thierry Vigneron (born 9 March 1960 in Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine) is a retired French pole vaulter. In the 1980s, he was among the world's leading pole vaulters. He broke the world record in the event four times and was the last man to hold ...
beat it by one centimetre.
Quinon won the silver medal with a height of 5.75m at the 1984 European Indoor Championships held in March 1984 in the Swedish city of
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, with Vigneron taking the gold medal. He also won three Championnats de France d'athlétisme (French National Athletics Championships) outdoor pole vault titles at the senior level in 1982, 1983 and 1984 with heights of 5.55m, 5.65m and 5.70m respectively.
1984 Olympic Games
At the
1984 Olympic Games The 1984 Olympics may refer to:
*The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
*The 1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...
in Los Angeles, in the absence of
Sergey Bubka
Sergey Nazarovych Bubka (; ''Serhiy Nazarovych Bubka''; born 4 December 1963) is a Ukrainian former pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by '' Track & Field News ...
because of the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics, Quinon, Vigneron and two Americans - Earl Bell and Mike Tully - were the favorites to win the pole vault title. All four of them had cleared 5.80m or higher prior to these Olympic Games. After Bell and Vigneron had missed three consecutive attempts at 5.70m, Quinon and Tully battled each other for the gold medal. Quinon was leading at 5.70m (he had cleared this height on his first attempt) and Tully was in second position at 5.65m when the bar was raised to 5.75m, with Quinon vaulting first. The Frenchman cleared the 5.75m on his first attempt. Although clearing this height would have put Tully in a tie for first place, he elected to pass. Neither man was successful at clearing 5.80m. Quinon thus won the gold medal with a height of 5.75m, becoming the first French Olympic male pole vault champion (the French had never even won a single medal in this event in previous Olympic Games) and the first French Olympic male or female gold medallist in any jumping event.
Fernand Gonder
Fernand Gonder (12 June 1883 – 10 March 1969) was a French pole vaulter who won the gold medal at the 1906 Intercalated Games.
Career
Gonder was selected to represent France at the 1906 Olympic Games and won gold in the pole jump event. ...
won the
1906 Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...
pole vault gold medal, but medals won in those games are not officially recognized by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
today. This was to be Quinon's only appearance at the Olympic Games. Tully won the silver medal (5.65m), with Vigneron and Bell each receiving a bronze medal (5.60m). Just after winning the Olympic gold medal, Quinon told
L'Équipe
''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...
in an interview, "I had made it my mission to succeed there (at the Olympic Games) where the other Frenchmen had failed." In the same interview, Quinon considered his Olympic title as a "collective reward" and opined that "the pole vault training programmes started and carried out by Maurice Houvion (who was the coach of
Jean Galfione
Jean Galfione (born 9 June 1971) is a French retired pole vaulter. During his pole vaulting career, he won at least one medal in each of the following major international competitions - the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the World Indo ...
, the 1996 Olympic pole vault champion, for Galfione's entire pole vaulting career) and Jean-Claude Perrin had borne fruit."
After the 1984 Olympic Games
On 16 July 1985 at the Meeting Nikaïa de Nice in the French city of
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionoutdoor world record set by
Sergey Bubka
Sergey Nazarovych Bubka (; ''Serhiy Nazarovych Bubka''; born 4 December 1963) is a Ukrainian former pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by '' Track & Field News ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
only three days earlier.
An ankle injury sustained in 1986 and other injuries sustained thereafter adversely affected Quinon's pole vault performance in the later years of his career. He never again pole-vaulted at the standard similar to that of the first half of the 1980s. He did not make the cut for the
1988 Olympics
1988 Olympics refers to both:
*The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
*The 1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 () ...
pole vault event in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
.
Philippe Collet
Philippe Collet (born 13 December 1963 in Nancy) is a retired French pole vault
Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon ...
Thierry Vigneron
Thierry Vigneron (born 9 March 1960 in Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine) is a retired French pole vaulter. In the 1980s, he was among the world's leading pole vaulters. He broke the world record in the event four times and was the last man to hold ...
were instead selected to represent France at those Olympics.
In 1989, Quinon settled in
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
. He became a member of a
sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
there and was coached by Georges Martin. He lived in
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
until his retirement from pole vaulting in 1993.
Later life
After his retirement, from 1993 onwards, Quinon settled in the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
communes
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
of
Le Lavandou
Le Lavandou (; ) is a seaside commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. Le Lavandou derives its name either from the flower lavender (''lavanda'' in Provençal) that is prevalent in the area ...
Hyères
Hyères (), Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Al ...
. He would live in the Var until his death. He went into business - he owned a chicken
rotisserie
Rotisserie, also known as spit-roasting, is a style of roasting where meat is skewered on a spit – a long, solid rod used to hold food while it is being cooked over a fire in a fireplace or over a campfire, or roasted in an oven. This meth ...
business, running it from a
van
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...
based in
Hyères
Hyères (), Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Al ...
.
In the late 1990s, Quinon created the 'Sports en lumière' in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in co-operation with its town council. The
'Sports en lumière is an annual sporting event held in Bormes-les-Mimosas that is especially meant for children, during which free workshops on various sports are conducted.
Quinon acted as an advisor to the French pole vaulter Romain Mesnil in 2004, an experience which Quinon deemed as a "failure" when his protégé failed to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games pole vault final in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
painting
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
during the last five years of his life, starting from 2006. He started painting after a meeting with the artist Colin Raffer in the same year. He stated that he had always been interested in painting and that
Nicolas de Staël
Nicolas de Staël (; January 5, 1914 – March 16, 1955) was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles.
Early li ...
and
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...
were his role models who inspired him. He exhibited his works regularly in the Var with some success. The first exhibition of his works in February 2010 was a success.
Quinon supported and promoted the bid of his native city -
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
- to host the 2015
World Masters Athletics Championships
The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biennial championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes 35 years of age or ...
. He worked on the preparations for the bid and accompanied his country's senior sports officials to the United States as part of his duties. On 14 July 2011, the three bid cities -
Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...
,
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
and
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
- made their bidding presentations to the World Masters Athletics General Assembly in
Sacramento, California
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...
. Quinon's concluding speech made during the bidding presentations seemed to be a major factor in Lyon receiving the greatest number of votes from the General Assembly for both rounds of voting held on the same day immediately after the bidding presentations. Lyon was thus chosen as the host city of the 2015 World Masters Athletics Championships.
Death
At around 10 pm on Wednesday 17 August 2011 Quinon committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
by throwing himself headlong out of a window of his
apartment
An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...
in
Hyères
Hyères (), Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Al ...
from a height of 5 metres. The local French dailyVar-Matin broke the news of his suicide the following morning and this was later confirmed by the
Fédération française d'athlétisme
The French Athletics Federation (, FFA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in France.
History
FFA is the heir to the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA), founded November 20, 1887. In 1912, a French del ...
. Quinon had been suffering from depression for some time and had been taking tablets to treat it. At the time of his self-defenestration, he had a woman friend in his home. Quinon was survived by his mother, his sister (Isabelle), his ex-wife (Caroline Large) and his two sons (Robin and Jean-Baptiste, from his marriage to Caroline Large).
Reactions to the news of his death and tributes
In an interview with the French radio network
Europe 1
Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...
, Jean-Claude Perrin, Quinon's former coach, said, "When a life is lost like that, titles and records do not count any more." Perrin said that he was "very distressed" by the "terrible news" of Quinon's suicide. He said that he was lucky enough to share Quinon's life intimately for five years when he was his coach.
Bernard Amsalem
Bernard Amsalem (born 1951 in Saida, Algeria) is a French organizer of athletics. He was vice-president of the French Athletics Federation from 1997 to 2001, and is now the president since 2001.
Amsalem was vice-president of the French Olympic ...
, the president of the
Fédération française d'athlétisme
The French Athletics Federation (, FFA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in France.
History
FFA is the heir to the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA), founded November 20, 1887. In 1912, a French del ...
, said that he was "grief-stricken" on hearing the news of Quinon's death. "He was a great champion. He was atypical in the world of athletics, but he was very likable," described Amsalem.
Jean Galfione
Jean Galfione (born 9 June 1971) is a French retired pole vaulter. During his pole vaulting career, he won at least one medal in each of the following major international competitions - the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the World Indo ...
poster
A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...
that I owned in my bedroom when I was a kid." Galfione described Quinon as his role model. Galfione said that they would train together when he was at the beginning of his pole vaulting career and Quinon was nearing the end of his, and that they became close.
Marcel Ferrari, the president of the Ligue d'Athlétisme
Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône a ...
, who like Quinon was a member of the French delegation to the July 2011 World Masters Athletics General Assembly in
Sacramento, California
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...
, told
Lyon Capitale
''Lyon Capitale'' () is a French monthly magazine, created in 1994, talks about Lyon and its region Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. ...
that he did not observe any warning signs of Quinon's impending
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
.
Funeral and tributes
Quinon's
funeral
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
took place in the commune of Bormes-les-Mimosas in the department of Var in the afternoon of 23 August 2011. It was attended by more than 200 persons, among them his two sons (Robin and Jean-Baptiste), his ex-wife (Caroline Large), his sister (Isabelle), his mother, Jean-Claude Perrin (his former coach) and notable, retired French athlete like
Stéphane Diagana
Stéphane Diagana (born 23 July 1969 in Saint-Affrique, Aveyron) is a retired, French track and field sprinter and hurdler. His specialities were the 400 metres hurdles and the 4 × 400 metres relay.
Diagana won the 400 metres hur ...
,
Maryse Éwanjé-Épée
Maryse Éwanjé-Épée (born September 4, 1964, in Poitiers, France) is a retired high jumper from France.
She represented France in the high jump at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. She set a French national outdoor record of 1.96 m in 1985 ...
,
Thierry Vigneron
Thierry Vigneron (born 9 March 1960 in Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine) is a retired French pole vaulter. In the 1980s, he was among the world's leading pole vaulters. He broke the world record in the event four times and was the last man to hold ...
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
, in front of which was placed Quinon's
coffin
A coffin or casket is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, for burial, entombment or cremation. Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets, particularly in American English.
A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" a ...
that was draped with the
French flag
The national flag of France () is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. The design was adopted after the French Revolution, whose revolutionaries were influenced by the horizontally striped r ...
. Two giant, black and white
poster
A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...
s of Quinon hung from the balcony of the town hall. The French President
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
had a
wreath
A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape.
In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...
of flowers delivered to the funeral. Albert Vatinet, the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of Bormes-les-Mimosas, was the first to deliver a
eulogy
A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term o ...
in praise of his friend. "At present, you are next to the stars, at the summit of
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...
," said Vatinet at the end of his eulogy. The French Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno sent a message of condolence that was read out to the crowd by a representative. In her message, Jouanno recalled the magical moment on 8 Aug 1984 when Quinon became an Olympic champion and announced that all French athletes at the upcoming
2011 World Championships in Athletics
The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011.
The United States topped the medal standings in the ...
would wear black
armband
An armband is a piece of material worn around the arm. They may be worn for pure ornamentation, or to mark the wearer as belonging to group, or as insignia having a certain rank, status, office or role, or being in a particular state or conditi ...
s. A very moved
Stéphane Diagana
Stéphane Diagana (born 23 July 1969 in Saint-Affrique, Aveyron) is a retired, French track and field sprinter and hurdler. His specialities were the 400 metres hurdles and the 4 × 400 metres relay.
Diagana won the 400 metres hur ...
, who was a friend of Quinon, read a hand-written letter from
Jean Galfione
Jean Galfione (born 9 June 1971) is a French retired pole vaulter. During his pole vaulting career, he won at least one medal in each of the following major international competitions - the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the World Indo ...
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
competition (he had been practising
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
competitively since 2007), wrote, "It is thanks to you, Pierre, that I made my first pole vault. You will remain the best." and also expressed his admiration of Quinon - his "hero" - of whom he had a
poster
A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...
in his bedroom. In his eulogy, Diagana described Quinon as an "aesthete of life" who "took great delight in beautiful things".
The French
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
,
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Austria, and was originally titled "".
The French Na ...
, rang out. The cortege then walked in silence to the
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
of Saint-Trophyme in Bormes-les-Mimosas for a religious ceremony conducted by the parish priest, Father Lopez. During the religious ceremony,
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...
's song
Angels
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
, which was chosen by Quinon's family to bid farewell to him, rang out inside the church. In his eulogy, Quinon's older son, Robin, who was then 24 years old, called his father "the hero of his life". In accordance with his wish, Quinon was then buried in the
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...
of Bormes-les-Mimosas. Only family members were present during the burial.
Legacy
On 23 April 2004,
Salaise-sur-Sanne
Salaise-sur-Sanne () is a Communes of France, commune in the Isère Departments of France, department in southeastern France.
Population
Notable people
* Jeanne Bouvier
See also
*Communes of the Isère department
References
Comm ...
's
collège
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...
gym
A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...
nasium was renamed "gymnase Pierre Quinon".
The
gym
A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...
nasium in Bormes-les-Mimosas was renamed "gymnase Pierre Quinon" in early
September 2011, less than one month after Quinon's death. It was inaugurated on 20 February 2012, on what would have been Quinon's 50th birthday. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Quinon's two sons (Robin and Jean-Baptiste), his ex-wife (Caroline Large), Albert Vatinet (the mayor of Bormes-les-Mimosas), Bernard Amsalem (the president of the
Fédération française d'athlétisme
The French Athletics Federation (, FFA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in France.
History
FFA is the heir to the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA), founded November 20, 1887. In 1912, a French del ...
), and notable French athletes such as
Laurence Bily
Laurence Bily (born 5 May 1963 in Bressuire) is a retired French sprinter, who specialized in the 100 meters. She ran for the Racing Club de France, and set a French junior record with 11.35 seconds in 1982 and a senior record with 11.04 in 19 ...
,
Stéphane Diagana
Stéphane Diagana (born 23 July 1969 in Saint-Affrique, Aveyron) is a retired, French track and field sprinter and hurdler. His specialities were the 400 metres hurdles and the 4 × 400 metres relay.
Diagana won the 400 metres hur ...
,
Jean Galfione
Jean Galfione (born 9 June 1971) is a French retired pole vaulter. During his pole vaulting career, he won at least one medal in each of the following major international competitions - the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the World Indo ...
stadium
A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...
in
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
International competition record
*only the position and height in the final are indicated
Men's pole vault world record progression
The first world record in the men's pole vault was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1912.
As of April 20, 2024, 80 world records have been ratified by the IAAF (now World Athletics) in the event. Since 200 ...