Annette Sergent

Who is Annette Sergent?

Annette Sergent is a French former long-distance runner. She represented her country three times at the Summer Olympics, but it was in cross country running that she had her greatest success. She became the first Frenchwoman to win a world title in the sport at the 1987 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and won for a second time in 1989. In addition to these victories, she made eleven appearances at the competition and placed third in both 1986 and 1988.

Her sole major track medal came over 10,000 metres at the 1990 European Athletics Championships, where she was the bronze medallist. She was also a 3000 m silver medallist at the 1993 Mediterranean Games. Over her career, she competed at the World Championships in Athletics on three occasions.

Sergent was a fifteen-time French champion, taking national honours eight times on the track and seven times in cross country. She set a number of national record marks in her career and remains the French record holder over 2000 m.

She was twice married and ran under the names Annette Sergent-Palluy and Sergent-Petit.