Vincent Jay (born 18 May 1985) is a former French biathlete and non-commissioned officer.[1] During his career, he won two Olympic medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver - a gold in the sprint and a bronze medal in the pursuit. He was the first Frenchman to win an Olympic sprint Biathlon title. In the World Cup, he has fourteen podiums with two individual victories in Vancouver and two victories as part of relay teams.

Vincent Jay
Personal information
Full nameVincent Jay
Born (1985-05-18) 18 May 1985 (age 39)
Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, France
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Websitevincentjay.com
Professional information
SportBiathlon
ClubEMHM Les Ménuires
World Cup debut23 March 2006
Retired9 December 2012
Olympic Games
Teams1 (2010)
Medals2 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams4 (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012)
Medals0
World Cup
Seasons8 (2005/06–2012/13)
Individual victories2
All victories4
Individual podiums4
All podiums14
Medal record
Men's biathlon
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver 10 km sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Vancouver 12.5 km pursuit
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Presque Isle 4 × 7.5 km relay
Silver medal – second place 2005 Kontiolahti 4 × 7.5 km relay
Silver medal – second place 2006 Presque Isle 10 km sprint

Career

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He won a gold medal in the 10 km sprint and a Bronze medal in the 12.5 km pursuit at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[2] Jay also won the 20 km individual race at the 2009 World Cup event in Vancouver.[3]

His Olympic victory came one year after his first victory in World Cup at the same venue. He was not considered a favourite to win gold but was seen as the fourth man in the French team after Vincent Defrasne, and Simon and Martin Fourcade. He caused surprise by winning France's first gold medal at the 2010 Olympic Games. He followed this up with a bronze medal in the pursuit two days later. This event gave him a level of fame in the media for which he wasn't prepared. After two seasons in halftone, he announced his retirement from the sport because of disappointing results in December 2012. In his last race he helped the French team to a second place in a World Cup relay in Hochfilzen.[4]

Jay married alpine skier Marie Marchand-Arvier in June 2014.[5]

Following his retirement, Jay was appointed as the director of the Sports Club of Val d'Isere in July 2014.[6]

Biathlon results

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All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.[7]

Olympic Games

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2 medals (1 gold, 1 bronze)

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Relay
  2010 Vancouver 10th Gold Bronze 10th 5th
*Mass start was added as an event in 2006.

World Championships

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Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Relay Mixed relay
  2008 Östersund 7th
  2009 Pyeongchang 23rd 43rd 39th 4th
  2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 19th 45th 56th 12th
  2012 Ruhpolding 29th
*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.

Individual victories

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2 victories (1 In, 1 Sp)

Season Date Location Discipline Level
2008–09
1 victory
(1 In)
11 March 2009   Vancouver 20 km individual Biathlon World Cup
2009–10
1 victory
(1 Sp)
14 February 2010   Vancouver 10 km sprint Winter Olympic Games
*Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.

References

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  1. ^ Jay, Vincent, Équipe de France Militaire de Ski 2011.
  2. ^ "Vincent Jay, Biathlon". Vancouver 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  3. ^ Dure, Beau (14 February 2010). "France's Jay wins Olympic biathlon 10K; weather takes toll". USA Today. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  4. ^ "One Final Competition for Vincent Jay". International Biathlon Union. 13 December 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-02-06. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Marie Marchand-Arvier et Vincent Jay se sont mariés" [Marie Marchand-Arvier and Vincent Jay married]. Le Dauphiné libéré (in French). 28 June 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Val d'Isère: Vincent Jay bientôt à la tête du club des sports" [Val d'Isère: Vincent Jay soon to be head of Sports Club]. Le Dauphiné libéré (in French). 26 June 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Vincent Jay". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
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