Jump to content

Romain Mesnil

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Romain Mesnil
Personal information
Born (1977-06-13) 13 June 1977 (age 47)
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight79 kg (174 lb)
Sport
Country France
SportAthletics
EventPole Vault
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • Pole vault outdoor: 5.95 m (2003)
  • Pole vault indoor: 5.86 m (2001)
Medal record
Updated on 15 February 2015

Romain Mesnil (born 13 June 1977 in Le Plessis-Bouchard) is a retired, French pole vaulter. His personal outdoor best is 5.95 metres, achieved in August 2003 in Castres. His personal indoor best is 5.86 metres, set in March 2001 in Toulouse. His coach was Georges Martin.

Biography

[edit]

Mesnil won the 1999 European Athletics U23 Championships gold medal, 2 World Championship silvers, 1 World Indoor Championship bronze, 1 European Championship silver and 1 Universiade bronze. He won seven outdoor and three indoor French National Athletics Championships titles from 1998 to 2011.

In March 2009, Mesnil released a video of himself running naked through the streets of Paris as if to pole vault in Parisian tourist spots. The video, posted on YouTube, was an attempt to attract attention to his quest for a new sponsorship deal. His sponsorship contract with Nike had expired in 2008 and was not renewed.[1]

Mesnil finished in 10th position (5.50m) in the pole vault final of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, his fourth and final Olympic Games. He had previously taken part in the last three Olympics in Sydney, Athens and Beijing but had failed to qualify for the final each time.

Mesnil retired from pole vaulting in July 2013. His last competition - the Meeting Areva - was held on 6 July 2013 at the Stade de France in Paris.[2]

Results in international competitions

[edit]
  • Only the position and height in the final are indicated, unless otherwise stated. (q) means the athlete did not qualify for the final, with the overall position and height in the qualification round indicated.
Romain Mesnil (on the left)
Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  France
1996 World Junior Championships Sydney, Australia 13th (q) 5.10 m
1998 European Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 8th 5.50 m
European Championships Budapest, Hungary – (q) NM
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 6th 5.70 m
Universiade Palma de Mallorca, Spain 3rd 5.55 m
European U23 Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 1st 5.93 m
World Championships Seville, Spain 8th in qualification 5.70 m in qualification[3]
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 31st (q) 5.40 m
2001 World Indoor Championships Lisbon, Portugal 3rd 5.85 m
World Championships Edmonton, Canada 5th 5.85 m
2002 European Indoor Championships Vienna, Austria 10th (q) 5.55 m
European Championships Munich, Germany – (q) NM
2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, England 7th 5.60 m
European Cup Florence, Italy 1st 5.75 m
World Championships Paris, France – (q) NM
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 7th 5.45 m
2004 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 7th 5.60 m
European Cup Bydgoszcz, Poland 1st 5.75 m
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 18th (q) 5.65 m
2006 World Indoor Championships Moscow, Russia – (q) NM
European Cup Málaga, Spain 1st 5.70 m
European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 2nd 5.65 m
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 2nd 5.86 m
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 14th (q) 5.55 m
2009 European Indoor Championships Turin, Italy 7th 5.61 m
World Championships Berlin, Germany 2nd 5.85 m
2010 European Championships Barcelona, Spain 8th 5.60 m
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 1st in qualification 5.65 m in qualification[4]
2012 World Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 8th 5.50 m
European Championships Helsinki, Finland – (q) NM
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 10th 5.50 m

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Naked pole vaulter seeks sponsor ESPN, March 29, 2009
  2. ^ Les adieux du perchiste albigeois Romain Mesnil FranceTV3 Midi-Pyrénées July 7, 2013
  3. ^ No height registered in the final
  4. ^ No height registered in the final
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by Men's Pole Vault Best Year Performance
2003
Succeeded by