Christophe Lemaitre

Christophe Lemaitre

Lemaitre during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
Personal information
Nationality France
Born (1990-06-11) 11 June 1990
Culoz, France
Residence Aix-les-Bains
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 84 kg (185 lb)
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event(s) 100 metres, 200 metres, 4 × 100 metres relay
Club Athlétique Sport Aixois
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 100 m outdoor: 9.92 s (Albi 2011)
200 m outdoor: 19.80 s (Daegu 2011)
Medal record
Representing  France
Olympic Games
2012 London 4×100 m relay
2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m
World Championships
2011 Daegu 4×100 m relay
2011 Daegu 200 m
European Championships
2010 Barcelona 100 m
2010 Barcelona 200 m
2010 Barcelona 4×100 m relay
2012 Helsinki 100 m
2014 Zürich 100 m
2014 Zürich 200 m
2012 Helsinki 4×100 m relay
2014 Zürich 4×100 m relay
European Indoor Championships
2011 Paris 60 m
World Junior Championships
2008 Bydgoszcz 200 m
European Junior Championships
2009 Novi Sad 100 m
Representing Europe Europe
Continental Cup
2010 Split 100 m
2014 Marrakech 4×100 m relay

Christophe Lemaitre[1] (French pronunciation: ​[kʁistɔf ləmɛtʁ]; born 11 June 1990) is a French sprinter, who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres. He was the first white man to break the 10-second barrier in an officially timed 100 m event.[2] He won a bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

At the age of 20, Lemaitre won the 100 m, 200 m and the 4×100 m relay titles at the 2010 European Championships, the first French sprinter ever to achieve that triple. He was the fastest European 100 m and 200 m sprinter in 2010.[3][4] He won a bronze medal in the 200 m at the 2011 World Championships. As of August 2013, Lemaitre was one of the three Frenchmen (the other two are Ronald Pognon and Jimmy Vicaut) to have broken the 10-second barrier in the 100 metres outdoor.[5]

Career

Growing up

Lemaitre grew up in the town of Culoz, where he took part in handball, rugby and football, before his sprinting prowess was discovered. In 2005 at the age of 15, during national sprinting events, Lemaitre ended up with the fastest 50 metres in the country.[6] A month after his 16th birthday in 2006, and less than a year after joining an athletics club in Aix-les-Bains, Lemaitre ran 100 m in 10.96 seconds. His personal best improved to 10.53 seconds in 2007.

2008–2009

Lemaitre after winning his medals in Barcelona

In 2008, he ran a new 100 m personal best of 10.26 seconds. At the 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics, Lemaitre won the 200 m title with a time of 20.83 seconds.[7]

At the 2009 European Athletics Junior Championships, Lemaitre won gold in the 100 m and set a new European junior record with a time of 10.04 seconds.[8] He won the 2009 men's European Athletics Rising Star of the Year Award for his achievements in 2009.[9]

2010

At the start of the 2010 outdoor season, he opened with a run of 10.09 seconds in Aix-les-Bains before winning in 10.24 into a headwind of −2.2 m/s in Vénissieux. He ran at the French National Interclub Championships in Franconville in May 2010 and recorded a new 100 m personal best of 10.03 seconds, although he said he was disappointed to have missed Ronald Pognon's French record of 9.99 seconds.[10] He aimed once more at the record at the 2010 European Team Championships and, although he again missed his target, he finished as runner-up against Dwain Chambers with a personal best of 10.02 seconds.[11]

100 m final at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona.

On 9 July 2010, Lemaitre became the first man purely of European descent to run 100 metres in under 10 seconds, with a time of 9.98 s at the 2010 French National Championships in the city of Valence. By doing so, Lemaitre also broke the 100m French national record of 9.99 s set by Ronald Pognon on 5 July 2005 in Lausanne. Afterwards Lemaitre said, "Of course, it was my goal to break it (the 10-second barrier). One has to run under 10 seconds in order to be part of the world's best. I will be recognised as the first white man to do so, but today's achievement is mainly about making history for myself!...It is not about the color (of one's skin), it is about hard work."[12][13][14] One day later (at the same 2010 French National Championships), Lemaitre equalled the 200m French national outdoor record with a time of 20.16 seconds. Gilles Quénéhervé had held the 200m French national outdoor record exclusively for almost 23 years - since 3 September 1987.[15]

At the 2010 European Championships, he won the gold medal in the 100 m with a time of 10.11 s.[16] The next day, after comfortably progressing through the heats and semi-finals of the 200 m, Lemaitre became the double European champion by storming to victory in the 200 m final in a time of 20.37 s, beating Great Britain's Christian Malcolm by 0.01 s (Malcolm clocked his season's best time of 20.38 s in the final).[17] Lemaitre then combined with Jimmy Vicaut, Pierre-Alexis Pessonneaux, and Martial Mbandjock in the 4 × 100 m relay final to finish first ahead of Italy and Germany in a time of 38.11 s.[18] At the IAAF World Challenge's Rieti Meeting in Rieti, Italy on 29 August 2010, Lemaitre competed in the 100 m. In that event, he equalled his personal best in his heat with a time of 9.98 s, and improved on it in the final with a time of 9.97 s (reaction time 0.199 s).[19]

2011

Lemaitre at the 2011 World championships Athletics in Daegu.

During the 2011 European Indoor Championships in Paris, Christophe Lemaitre was the fastest during the heats of the 60 m event. He also had the fastest time in the semi-finals, but he only finished in third place in the final.[20][21]

On June 7, at the first meeting of the Pro Athlé Tour in Montreuil, he broke his own national record with a time of 9.96 s.[22] On June 18, he went on to again lower his national record, clocking a time of 9.95 s at the 2011 European Team Championships in Stockholm, Sweden.[23] On June 30, he matched his national record with a time of 9.95 s in Lausanne. On July 29, he again lowered the French national record at the French National Championships in Albi, with a time of 9.92 s and a wind-assisted speed of 2.0 m/s. By winning that race in 9.92 s, he became the second fastest sprinter of non-west African descent (after Frankie Fredericks).

On 30 July, he appeared to break the 200 metres French national record, but it did not count as the wind speed was 2.3 m/s, which was 0.3 m/s over the limit. At the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Lemaitre reached the final of the 100 m event, where he finished fourth.[24] On September 3, he won the bronze medal in the 200 m event, with a time of 19.80 s and a wind speed of 0.8 m/s in the final. In doing so, he pulverized the previous French national record (20.16 s) that he had shared with Gilles Quénéhervé for 14 months by 0.36 second.[25] In that race he became the second-fastest European 200 m sprinter in history after Pietro Mennea. On September 4, Lemaitre teamed up with Jimmy Vicaut, Teddy Tinmar and Yannick Lesourd to run a season best of 38.20 s in the 4 x 100 metres relay final, finishing second behind the world record-breaking Jamaican team and thus taking the silver medal.[26]

Olympic 4 x 100 m bronze medal in London (2012)

Christophe Lemaitre, after consulting his coach, opted out of competing in the 100 m in the 2012 London Olympics. Lemaitre would thus only participate in the 200 m, in which he was ranked fourth that year, and the 4 × 100 m relay. His coach, Pierre Carraz, said: "In the results over 100m, Christophe is only ranked 10th among those who have entered. Over 200m, we can hope for a medal."[27] Lemaitre finished sixth in the 200 m final in a time of 20.19 s. After the final, he said, "I started very well. And then I still had this problem at the bend. I did my best, but it was too difficult. I finished sixth. There is not much to say. For me, it was not the final I was hoping for."[28] In the 4 × 100 m relay final, Lemaitre's wins his first olympic medal, taking the bronze behind Jamaca and Trinidad and Tobago.[29]

In the 100 m final at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Lemaitre finished in seventh place in a time of 10.06. On 12 August, one day after the 100 m final, he withdrew from the 200 m and the 4 × 100 m relay due to an injury near the right knee sustained during the 100 m final.[30] [31]

At the 2014 European Championships, he won three medals, with silvers in the 100 m and 200m behind the British sprinters James Dasaolu and Adam Gemili respectively, before winning bronze in the 4 × 100 m relay. He has now won a record eight medals at the European Championships.

Olympic 200 m bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro (2016)

Christophe Lemaitre at the Meeting de Paris several days after having won the 200 meters bronze medal at the Olympics in Rio.

After a disappointing 2015 Season in which he failed to reach the World Championships' final in Beijing in either the 100 m or the 200 m, Lemaitre started to think about changing his coach. After months of reflection, he took the choice to stay in his hometown of Aix-les-Bains. On February 27, the French man wins the 200 m indoor national title with a WL and PB of 20 s 43.[32] He stated his desire to run a sub-20 in the 200 m, thing he didn't reach since 2012. Injured in June, he withdrew from the European Championships in Amsterdam for being in great shape for the Olympic Games.

In August, Christophe Lemaitre participated at the Olympics and first didn't reach the 100 m final after finishing 4th in his semi-final in 10 s 07, his season's best. However, in the 200 m, he qualified for the final after clocking 20 s 01 in the semi-final behind America's LaShawn Merritt. During the 200 metres final, Lemaitre came back from the back of the race and took a surprising bronze medal (20 s 12), just ahead of Great Britain's Adam Gemili who ran the same time. For the French, it's his first individual olympic medal and his second overall after London 4 x 100 m's bronze. He is also the first French athlete to win a medal in this event since Abdoulaye Seye in 1960.[33]

Recognition

Christophe Lemaitre was the winner of the 2010 men's European Athlete of the Year Trophy.[34] He was also named the 2010 L'Équipe Champion of Champions (France category) (ahead of Sébastien Loeb and Teddy Riner) by the French sports daily L'Équipe [35] and the 2010 RTL Champion of Champions by the French commercial radio network RTL.[36]

After Lemaitre had first broken the ten seconds barrier in the 100m in 2010, L'Équipe put him on the front page, even though the Tour de France was taking place. During his European Championships treble gold medal winning year of 2010, Lemaitre ran faster than the former world record-holder Asafa Powell and the former double world champion Tyson Gay did at his age.

Lemaitre took second place in the total points received that decided who was to win the 2011 men's European Athlete of the Year Trophy.[37]

Personal life

In addition to his career in athletics, Lemaitre attends the University of Savoy, where he is studying for a professional bachelor's degree in industrial electrical engineering and computer science.

Personal bests

Event Time Wind Venue Date Ref
60 m indoor 6.55 France Aubière 13 February 2010
200 m indoor 20.43 France Aubière 28 February 2016
100 m outdoor 9.92 +2.0 m/s France Albi 29 July 2011 [38]
200 m outdoor 19.80 NR +0.8 m/s South Korea Daegu 3 September 2011

Key: NR = National record

References

  1. ↑ "Lemaitre, enfant du paradis". Le Républicain Lorrain (in French). Retrieved 2010-07-10. [...] Lemaitre sans accent circonflexe [...]
  2. ↑ Vazel, Pierre Jean (2010-07-09). "Lemaitre – 9.98sec". IAAF. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ Your name: (2010-07-29). "Lemaitre is fastest man in Europe – Emirates24|7". Emirates247.com. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  4. ↑ Christophe Lemaitre profile Retrieved 31 January 2011
  5. ↑ 9"95 pour Jimmy Vicaut, troisième Tricolore sous les 10" sur 100m Eurosport.com (2013-7-13)
  6. ↑ « Un météore venu de la lune », leprogres.fr, mis en ligne le 10 juillet 2010
  7. ↑ "2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics −200 Metres Hurdles – M FinaL". IAAF. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  8. ↑ "2009 European Athletics Junior Championships −200 Metres Hurdles – M FinaL". European Athletics. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  9. ↑ European Athletics Rising Star Lemaitre now looking at new challenges . European Athletics (2009-09-30). Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  10. ↑ Vazel, Pierre-Jean (2010-05-25). World leading 17.63 for Tamgho – 10.03PB for Lemaitre – French Club Champs report. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-06-14.
  11. ↑ Minshull, Phil (2010-06-20). Chambers flies to 9.99, Russia hold pole position – European Team Champs, Day 1. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-06-21.
  12. ↑ "Lemaitre – 9.98sec". IAAF. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  13. ↑ Boucey, Bertrand (2010-07-09). "Lemaitre first white man to run 100m in under 10 seconds". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  14. ↑ "French sprinter breaks 10-second barrier in 100m dash". France 24. 2010-07-09. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  15. ↑ "Lemaitre equals 20.16 national 200m record, Lavillenie vaults world-leading 5.94m as French championships conclude". IAAF. 2010-07-11. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  16. ↑ "Christophe Lemaitre wins 100m at European Championships". London: The Guardian. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  17. ↑ "Christian Malcolm edged out for 200m gold by Christophe Lemaitre". London: The Guardian. 2010-07-30. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  18. ↑ "France's Lemaitre captures third gold". The Japan Times. 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  19. ↑ Sampaolo, Diego (2010-08-29). Rudisha lowers 800m World record again, 1:41.01; Carter dashes 9.78sec in Rieti – IAAF World Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-08-30.
  20. ↑ Round 1 Results
  21. ↑ Semifinal Results
  22. ↑ "Lemaitre clocks 9.96 for new French 100m record". www.trackalerts.com. 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
  23. ↑ "Lemaitre clocks 9.95 at SPAR European Team Championships, fastest European time since 2004". EAA. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  24. ↑ "Blake en or, Lemaitre se rate – AthlĂŠ – ChM (H) – L'EQUIPE.FR". Lequipe.fr. 2011-08-28. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  25. ↑ "Mondiaux Daegu – Lemaitre l'a fait !". Fr.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  26. ↑ "RM pour la JamaĂŻque, Bleus en argent – AthlĂŠ – ChM – L'EQUIPE.FR". Lequipe.fr. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  27. ↑ Sportsmail Reporter European champion Lemaitre skips 100m to focus on 200m at London 2012 Dailymail, 2012-07-26
  28. ↑ "Lemaitre : "C'était trop difficile"". Eurosport. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  29. ↑ https://www.olympic.org/london-2012/athletics/4x100m-relay-men
  30. ↑ "Le forfait de Christophe Lemaitre officialisé". Le Monde. 12 Aug 2013.
  31. ↑ "Mondiaux d'athlétisme : Christophe Lemaitre forfait pour le reste de la compétition". Sud Ouest. 12 Aug 2013.
  32. ↑ "Athlétisme : Christophe Lemaitre champion de France du 200m en salle - France 3 Alpes". Retrieved 2016-06-25.
  33. ↑ "Une course maîtrisée de A à Z par Bolt, un cassé décisif pour Lemaitre : le 200m décrypté". Eurosport. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  34. ↑ Frenchman Lemaitre voted 2010 European Athlete of the Year Retrieved 31 January 2011
  35. ↑ Sprinter Lemaitre named 'French Sportsman of the Year' Retrieved 31 January 2011
  36. ↑ "Marion Bartoli élue championne des championnes 2013 par RTL". RTL. 13 Dec 2013.
  37. ↑ "Farah handed 2011 European award". BBC News. 2011-10-05.
  38. ↑ "Lemaitre beats his own French 100m record". www.tipnews.info. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Sébastien Loeb
Daniel Elena		 French Sportperson of the Year
2010 		Succeeded by
Nikola Karabatić
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