French · Briançon, France · Born 24 June 1987French snowboarder and two-time Olympic snowboard cross champion, whose second gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games came after surviving a semifinal crash he thought had ended his medal chances.
Two months before the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Pierre Vaultier tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee; he raced at Sochi anyway, wearing a brace on a leg swollen to three times its normal size, and won gold — then defended his title at Pyeongchang 2018 to become snowboard cross's only two-time Olympic champion. He made his Olympic debut at the 2006 Turin Games in snowboard cross's Olympic debut, finishing a modest 35th, but steadily developed into one of the sport's dominant World Cup racers, winning his first crystal globe in 2008. Just two months before the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Vaultier tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee at a World Cup event in Lake Louise, an injury that typically requires six to nine months of recovery. Rather than undergo surgery, his surgeon prescribed intensive muscle strengthening, allowing Vaultier to race at Sochi wearing a knee brace on a leg swollen to three times its normal size. He advanced through the elimination rounds from the front and won gold in the rain-soaked final ahead of Russia's Nikolay Olyunin. At the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, Vaultier appeared to have his title defense ended when he crashed in the semifinal after Australia's Jarryd Hughes cut across his line, but he recovered in time to qualify third for the final anyway. He won the final decisively to become a two-time Olympic champion, later calling it more emotional than his first title. Vaultier went on to win six career World Cup crystal globes before retiring in December 2020 due to inflammatory arthritis that had eroded the cartilage in one knee, following 17 months of fighting to return to fitness, 12 of them on crutches.
Winning back-to-back Olympic snowboard cross gold medals in 2014 and 2018, the second coming after surviving a crash he thought had ended his chances
How They Played
Aggressive, tactically sharp snowboard cross racer known for explosive starts and fearless overtaking on technical courses
Lasting Impact
Remembered as one of the greatest snowboard cross racers in history, whose resilience through injury defined a career built on comebacks from the brink
Career Honours
- 2x Olympic Gold Medalist, Snowboard Cross (2014, 2018)
- 2017 World Champion, Snowboard Cross
- 6x World Cup Snowboard Cross Champion
- Competed at Sochi 2014 two months after tearing his ACL
French Athletes