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
Vidal at the European Championships in Pontevedra, 2011
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 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.[1] On 10 November 2015, Vidal died at the age of 31 after cardiac arrest at his home in Gigean, Hérault, France.[2]
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.[3]
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