Samuel Vessat
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | French |
| Born | 1 May 2002 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Sprint |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | 200m: 20.89 (2025) 400m: 44.24 (2026) NR Indoor 200m: 21.42 (2026) 400m: 45.30 (2026) NR |
Samuel Vessat (born 1 May 2002) is a French sprinter. In 2026, he twice set new French national records in the 400 metres both indoors and outdoors in 2026, winning the French Athletics Championships for the first time that year.[1]
Biography
From Saint-Denis, Vessat was a basketball player, prior to taking up in athletics.[2][3] The son of a basketball player, Vessat started playing basketball at the age of three years-old, and went on to play for Parisian club Levallois where he was coached by Ron Stewart, who had also previously coached Tony Parker and Joakim Noah. He moved to Ireland in 2021 after a move to a Canadian prep school was cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic, and was based in Limerick, studying and playing at TUS Midwest, and declared for the 2022 NBA Draft.[4][5][3]
Vessat moved to the United States to attend Edward Waters University in Jacksonville in 2023, and took up athletics in 2024 at the age of 22 years-old.[3] Competing in the United States for Edward Waters University in 2025, Vessat he became the first student-athlete from that university to compete at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships having qualified for the championships with a personal best time of 47.35 for the 400 metres.[6]
He transferred to at Purdue University in Indiana prior to the start of the 2026 indoor season.[7] In February 2026, he set a personal best during his first indoor season of 45.68 seconds. Later that month, he set a French indoor national record in the 400 metres competing for Purdue at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, running 45.38 seconds to break the previous record of 45.54 seconds set by Leslie Djhone in 2011.[8][9] He placed sixth in the 400 m at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships in 45.30 seconds, lowering the French indoor national record for a second time.[10][11]
Running outdoors the following month, Vessat set a new personal best of 44.94 to move to third on the French all-time list.[12] In May, Vessat broke his personal best in the 400m with 44.82 seconds at the NCAA Regional Championships. On 12 June, he placed fourth in the 400 m final at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships, running 44.47 seconds.[13][14][15] On 26 July, Vessat set a new French national record of 44.24 seconds in winning the French Athletics Championships in Albi, surpassing the previous long-standing best set by Leslie Djhone. The time also moved him to fourth on the European all-time list.[16] Competing at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England in August, he was a semi-finalist in the 400 metres.[17]
References
- ↑ "Samuel Vessat". World Athletics. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ "Sprinter Samuel Vessat breaks the French indoor 400m record". Ouest-France. February 28, 2026. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- 1 2 3 "From NBA dreams to the French indoor 400m record: Samuel Vessat, the former basketball player who started sprinting at 22". Lequipe. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ "Listen - Limerick-based basketball star Samuel Vessat has dream of playing in the NBA". live95fm.ie. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ "20-year-old Limerick based basketball player Samuel Vessat has been declared for the NBA 2022 draft!". 4 May 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ "EDWARD WATERS' VESSAT MAKES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DEBUT". thesiac.com. 27 May 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ "Purdue Track & Field preview: Early competition sets the tone for long season". purdueexponent.org. 14 Jan 2026. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ Roy, Stéphane. "Samuel Vessat breaks the French indoor 400-meter record". Sport.fr. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ "RYAN JOHNSON SMASHES COLLEGIATE WEIGHT THROW RECORD AT BIG TEN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS". DyeStat.com. 26 Feb 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ↑ "Arkansas & Georgia Claim The 2026 NCAA D1 Indoor National Team T&F Titles". Flo Track. 15 March 2026. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ "Athletics. Samuel Vessat breaks the French indoor 400m record again". Ouest-France. March 15, 2026. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ↑ Trapnell, Jasmine (19 Apr 2026). "Fastest ever season's debut for Amy Hunt in Gainesville". European Athletics. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "2026 NCAA Track and Field Championships Day 3 Results: Who Won?". Flotrack. 12 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ "NCAA Track And Field Championships 2026 Qualifiers". Flotrack. 2 June 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
- ↑ "4 TICKETS PUNCHED NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, 2 SCHOOL RECORDS BROKEN". Purduesports. 29 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- ↑ Mills, Steven (26 Jul 2026). "Vessat shatters long-standing French 400m record with 44.24 in Albi". European Athletics. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
- ↑ "European Athletics Championships". World Athletics. 10 August 2026. Retrieved 19 August 2026.