Jean-Pierre Vidal (born 24 February 1977 in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne,

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

) is a French

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

. As a young skier, he focused mainly on downhill. After hurting his knee, however, he decided to go for slalom. In 2002, he had his best year, winning a gold medal in the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

and taking a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

win in

Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora (; german: Kronau) is a town in northwestern Slovenia, on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region, close to the Austrian and Italian borders. It is the seat of the Municipality of Kranjska Gora. Name Kranjska Gora was f ...

. A song was called after him (''Slalom dans la tête'') and in the French ski resort

Les Sybelles Les Sybelles () is a French linked ski area, located in the Savoie department in the Alps. It is one of the largest skiable domains in France. The resort was the home base of Jean-Pierre Vidal, winner of the gold medal in slalom at the 2002 Wint ...

, a lift was named after his gold medal as well (''Médaille d'Or'' in

La Toussuire Les Sybelles () is a French linked ski area, located in the Savoie department in the Alps. It is one of the largest skiable domains in France. The resort was the home base of Jean-Pierre Vidal, winner of the gold medal in slalom at the 2002 Wint ...

). After this fantastic year, it took Vidal until 2006 to return to the highest level of skiing competition. In January 2006, he won a World Cup race in

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...

. Barely a month later, on February 24, 2006, he broke his forearm during a training session in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. He then decided to stop his professional career. At this time, the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

were not over yet. He is the brother of alpine skier

Vanessa Vidal Vanessa Vidal (born 21 December 1974) is a former Alpine skiing, alpine skier from France, who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics and 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the sister of former Olympic slalom champion Jean-Pierre Vidal and the niece of ...

and the nephew of alpine skiers

Jean-Noël Augert Jean-Noël Augert (born 17 August 1949) is a French former alpine skier. He competed at the 1972 Olympics and finished in fifth place in the slalom and giant slalom. Career Augert was born in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and grew at the La Toussuir ...

and

Jean-Pierre Augert Jean-Pierre Augert (13 January 1946 — 15 February 1976) was a French alpine skier who competed in the 1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), we ...

World Cup victories

References

External links

Jean-Pierre Vidal's official website

1977 births Living people People from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne French male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of France Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for France Sportspeople from Savoie Universiade gold medalists for France Universiade bronze medalists for France Universiade medalists in alpine skiing Competitors at the 1999 Winter Universiade {{France-alpine-skiing-bio-stub