About Thierry Vigneron
Thierry Vigneron (born 9 March 1960 in Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine) is a retired French pole vaulter. In the 1980s, he was among the world's leading pole vaulters. He broke the world record in the event four times and was the last man to hold the world record (for only a few minutes in August 1984) before Sergey Bubka, who would hold on to it almost 30 years until February 2014. Vigneron burst onto the world stage by unexpectedly beating the 5.72 m outdoor world record of Poland's Władysław Kozakiewicz with a jump of 5.75 m on 1 June 1980. Vigneron equaled his own outdoor world record of 5.75 m on 29 June 1980. Although Vigneron lost his outdoor world record to another Frenchman, Philippe Houvion, on 17 July 1980, he was one of the favorites at the 1980 Summer Olympics. He broke the world record in the event four times and was the last man to hold the world record before Sergey Bubka, who would hold on to it almost 30 years until February 2014.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.