Laurent Vidal was runner-up at the 2002 European Junior Championships. He was Oceanian Champion in 2010 and in 2013 won the Oceanian Cup. Vidal competed in over 50 ITU World Cup events, recording 25 top 10 finishes, with three podium finishes. He was a three-time French Champion, and competed for the French Military Triathlon Team. Vidal competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, finishing fifth in 2012. In 2014 Vidal suffered a heart attack while doing swim training and had to be placed in an induced coma for him to survive, which ended his triathlon career. Unfortunately, only one year later, Vidal sustained another cardiac arrest and died at age 31. At the time of his death, he was engaged to New Zealander and world-class triathlete Andrea Hewitt.
France