Pierre Quinon was a pole vaulter from France.(February 20, 1962 in Lyon – August 17, 2011 in Hyères)
On August 28, 1983 in the German city of Cologne, he set a new world record with 5.82 metres. That day, after winning the contest, he became the first athlete to attempt to clear 6.00 metres in an official meet. Though he failed by a significant margin, "he didn't make a fool of himself," as his coach Jean-Claude Perrin said to the French media. Quinon's record was short-lived - on September 1, 1983 fellow countryman Thierry Vigneron beat it by one centimetre.
In 1984, Quinon won the gold medal at the Olympic Games with a height of 5.75m, with Vigneron placing joint third. Though both Frenchmen ranked among the favorites before the Games, Quinon's win was a minor surprise because Vigneron, usually the better performer, was expected to prevail. Quinon took the silver medal at the 1984 European Indoor Championships behind Vigneron. On July 16, 1985, Quinon achieved his personal best of 5.90 metres, 10 centimetres behind the then-world record.
He retired in 1993 and entered the restaurant business in the south of France. He had also been involved in preparations for the 2015 World Masters Athletics in Lyon.
Pierre Quinon committed suicide on August 17, 2011 by jumping out of a window in the Mediterranean city of Hyères.[1][2]
He was 49 and had been suffering from depression.[3] He had been running a rotisserie business from a truck prior to his death. He had two children, Robin and Jean-Baptiste, by his ex-wife, Caroline Large.
His funeral took place on the parvis of the town hall and the Saint-Trophyme church of the town of Bormes-les-Mimosas in the department of Var on August 23, 2011. It was attended by more than 200 persons, among them his children, ex-wife, sister, mother and notable, retired French athletes like Stéphane Diagana, Maryse Éwanjé-Épée, Thierry Vigneron, Christian Plaziat and William Motti. He was buried in Bormes-les-Mimosas' cemetery.[4]
Major achievements
| Year | Tournament | Venue | Result | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | European Indoor Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 2nd | |
| Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 1st |
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