Vincent Vittoz (born 17 July 1975 in
Annecy
Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...
,
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...
) is a French former
cross-country skier
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
,
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
and coach.
He grew up in the town of
La Clusaz
La Clusaz (; frp, La Klyuza, ) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
Overview
It is a ski resort in the Alps near the Swiss border. The commune of La Clusaz is part of the Haute ...
in the Northern French Alps and has been competing since 1982. He made his
FIS Cross-Country World Cup
The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recogn ...
debut in
January 1996 in
Nové Město na Moravě
Nové Město na Moravě (; german: Neustadt in Mähren) is a town in Žďár nad Sázavou District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,800 inhabitants. It is known as a winter sports resort. The historic town centre is wel ...
, finishing 22nd in a 15 km classical race.
He won a gold medal in the 15 km + 15 km double pursuit at the
2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2005 took place 16–27 February 2005 in Oberstdorf, Germany, for the second time after hosting it previously in 1987. The ski jumping team normal hill event returned after not being held in 2003. The dou ...
in
Oberstdorf
Oberstdorf ( Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns.
At the&nb ...
. As of 2018 Vittoz is the only French cross-country skiing world champion.
Vittoz's best overall team finish at the
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
was a fourth place in the 4 × 10 km relay events 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 ...
in the
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
and in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. His best individual finish in Turin was sixth in the 15 km + 15 km double pursuit in. He finished fifth in the 15 km free event in Vancouver. He competed in four Olympic Games in total, in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
,
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, 2006 and 2010.
Vittoz won seven World Cup individual events and one World Cup team event. He was ranked second in the overall classification of the 2005 World Cup.
Vittoz served as an ambassador for
Annecy's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
He retired from competition at the end of the 2010-11 season, taking up a position as coach of the French national under-23 cross-country ski team in the spring of 2011.
Seven years later, he was appointed as the coach of the French national biathlon team.
Cross-country skiing results
All results are sourced from the
International Ski Federation (FIS).
Olympic Games
World Championships
* 1 medal – (1 gold)
World Cup
Season standings
Individual podiums
*8 victories – (7 , 1 )
*26 podiums – (23 , 3 )
Team podiums
* 1 victory – (1 )
* 7 podiums – (7 )
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vittoz, Vincent
1975 births
Cross-country skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Cross-country skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Cross-country skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Cross-country skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics
French male cross-country skiers
Living people
Olympic cross-country skiers of France
Sportspeople from Annecy
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing
French sports coaches
Cross-country skiing coaches