French Olympic hero commits suicide

Former Olympic pole-vault champion Pierre Quinon has committed suicide at the age of 49, the French Athletics Federation announced today.

Former Olympic pole-vault champion Pierre Quinon has committed suicide at the age of 49, the French Athletics Federation announced on Thursday.

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"The news was confirmed to me by family members," said the federation's president Bernard Amsalem.

Quinon's hour of golden glory came at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, a year after he broke the world record with a leap of 5.82m.

He retired in 1992 and entered the restaurant business, and had also been involved in preparations for the 2015 World Masters Athletics in Lyon.