Jimmy Vicaut

About Jimmy Vicaut

Jimmy Vicaut is a French athlete specializing in the 100 meters. He is the second youngest sprinter of all time to reach the finals of the World Championships in the 100 meters, behind Trinidadian Darrel Brown; at the same championships, he won a silver medal in the 4 x 100 m, confirming the results of the French relay after their European title the previous year.

He started athletics at the age of ten and quickly specialized in sprint events. Licensed with Paris Avenir Athletic and coached by Jonathan Chimier, a long jump specialist, he clocked 11.67 seconds in the 100m in 2007.

In 2008, he improved to 10.75 seconds in the 100m. He also secured second place in this distance with a time of 10.93 seconds at the French Cadet Championships. In 2009, Jimmy Vicaut joined Guy Ontanon’s training group at INSEP, where he collaborated with former sprinter Dimitri Demonière. A few months after his arrival, he achieved 6.80 seconds in the 60 meters, just two hundredths of a second shy of the French cadet record held by Ladji Doucouré.

He subsequently joined Lagardère Paris Racing. On July 3, 2010, the Frenchman set the best junior performance of the season with a time of 10.16 seconds in the heats of the 110m. Two weeks later, he easily won his semi-final at the World Junior Championships in Moncton with a time of 10.38 seconds, before claiming the bronze medal in the final with a time of 10.28 seconds. His performance of 10.16 seconds allowed him to join the 4x100m relay team for the European Championships in Barcelona. Qualifying for the final with the fourth fastest time among the competing teams, the French Team won the continental title, establishing the best European performance of the season in 38.11 seconds.

He confirmed his performances in 2011 by becoming the European Junior Champion in Tallinn, succeeding his compatriot Christophe Lemaitre, who won in 2009. With a time of 10.07 seconds in the final, he became the fifth fastest French performer of all time in the 100m. He repeated this performance at the 2011 French Championships, thus becoming the Vice-Champion of France in the 100m.

At the World Championships in Daegu, he reached the final of the 100m alongside Christophe Lemaitre, becoming the second junior in the history of the championships to enter a world final. He also won the silver medal in the 4x100m relay with the French Team. He has been training again at Paris Athletic since October 2011.