Laurent Vidal

Vidal waiting for the start at the World Championship Series triathlon in Kitzbühel, 2011. Laurent Vidal (18 February 1984 – 10 November 2015) was a French professional triathlete, three time French Champion (2009, 2011 and 2012) and two time Olympian. In Beijing 2008 he placed 36th while he took the 5th place in London 2012.

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, France and Christchurch, New Zealand, the hometown of his fiancée Andrea Hewitt. 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. Unless indicated otherwise, the following events are triathlons (Olympic Distance) and refer to the Elite category.

Date Competition Place Rank 2002-07-06 European Championships (Junior) Győr 2 2002-11-09 World Championships (Junior) Cancun 19 2003-06-21 European Championships (Junior) Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary) 14 2003-12-06 World Championships (Junior) Queenstown 4 2004-05-09 World Championships (U23) Madeira 7 2004-09-04 World Cup Hamburg DNF 2005-06-05 World Cup Madrid DNF 2005-07-17 European Championships (U23) Sofia 37 2005-07-31 World Cup Salford 14 2005-09-10 World Championships (U23) Gamagori DNF 2005-09-17 OSIM World Cup Beijing 48 2006-03-03 World Cup Doha 11 2006-06-11 BG World Cup Richards Bay 40 2006-06-23 European Championships Autun DNF 2006-09-17 Premium European Cup Kedzierzyn Kozle 24 2006-10-08 European and Pan American Cup, Iberoamerican Championships Baeza 3 2006-10-18 Premium European Cup Alanya 3 2006-11-05 BG World Cup Cancun 45 2007-03-04 Oceania Championships Geelong 6 2007-03-25 BG World Cup Mooloolaba 25 2007-05-06 BG World Cup Lisbon 8 2007-06-03 BG World Cup Madrid 8 2007-06-29 European Championships Copenhagen 6 2007-07-22 BG World Cup Kitzbühel 12 2007-07-29 BG World Cup Salford 14 2007-08-30 BG World Championships Hamburg 28 2007-09-15 BG World Cup Beijing 49 2008-03-09 Oceania Championships Wellington DNF 2008-03-30 BG World Cup Mooloolaba 51 2008-04-06 BG World Cup New Plymouth DNS 2008-05-04 BG World Cup Richards Bay 5 2008-05-25 BG World Cup Madrid 8 2008-06-05 BG World Championships Vancouver 16 2008-07-20 BG World Cup Kitzbühel 6 2008-08-18 Olympic Games Beijing 36 2008-09-27 BG World Cup Lorient 5 2008-10-26 BG World Cup Huatulco 3 2009-03-29 World Cup Mooloolaba 5 2009-04-05 Oceania Cup New Plymouth 9 2009-05-02 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Tongyeong 8 2009-05-31 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Madrid 13 2009-06-21 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Washington DC 7 2009-07-02 European Championships Holten 26 2009-07-11 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Kitzbühel 3 2009-08-15 Dextro Energy World Championship Series London 5 2009-08-22 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Yokohama 4 2009-09-09 Dextro Energy World Championship Series: Grand Final Gold Coast 9 2010-03-13 Oceania Championships Wellington 1 2010-04-11 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Sydney 8 2010-05-08 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Seoul 21 2010-06-12 Elite Cup Hy-Vee 12 2010-07-03 European Championships Athlone 5 2010-07-24 Dextro Energy World Championship Series London 12 2010-08-14 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Kitzbühel DNF 2011-03-26 World Cup Mooloolaba 12 2011-04-09 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Sydney DNF 2011-06-04 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Madrid 12 2011-06-18 Dextro Energy World Championship Series Kitzbühel 6 2011-06-24 European Championships Pontevedra 7 2011-08-06 Dextro Energy World Championship Series London 6 2011-08-20 Dextro Energy World Championship Series: Sprint World Championships Lausanne 6 2011-09-09 Dextro Energy World Championship Series, Grand Final Beijing 5

DNS = did not start · DNF = did not finish · BG = the sponsor British Gas