Latest news with #Grondin
Irish Daily Mirror
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Tributes paid to jockey, 23, who tragically died after stroke in the saddle
The racing community is mourning the loss of Pierre-Alfred Grondin, a promising young jump jockey who tragically passed away after suffering a stroke while riding. The 23 year old, originally from Reunion Island, had moved to France a decade ago with aspirations of becoming a professional jockey. French media reported that Grondin experienced a cardio-neurovascular incident at Maisons-Laffitte during training, just a week shy of his 24th birthday. Grondin's journey in horse racing began when he arrived in mainland France at 14 without any prior experience riding horses. He joined Afasec, an organisation dedicated to recruiting and training individuals for the horse racing sector. His initial year was spent under the tutelage of trainer Fabrice Chappet in Chantilly, before he transitioned to Maisons-Laffitte to work with Jehan Bertran de Balanda. Grondin celebrated his first victory as a jockey at Auteuil in 2021, riding for Balanda, and accumulated a total of eight wins throughout his career. His most recent triumph was at Compiegne in March 2024, and he had participated in ten races in 2025, reports the Mirror. Balanda spoke to Paris-Turf, reminiscing: "He stayed with me for four or five years. I had sent him to Yannick Fouin for a month or two. "He was a great kid, who loved horses. He was very conscientious, very hard-working. He really didn't deserve to leave so soon. ". A poignant tribute was paid on Saturday with a minute's silence observed before the first race at Dieppe, where fellow jockeys donned black armbands in his memory. Gabin Meunier, a friend of Grondin, dedicated his win on the day to him. An outpouring of condolences and memories flooded the Facebook page of DLG et les Acteurs de Galop, as many shared their sorrow and honoured Grondin's life and career. One individual recalled: "I still remember I passed the selection tests at the Island of Reunion to enter this school and we were in the same group. I think he had never taken horse riding lessons but he showed us his motivation and his potential. "We were in the same group to leave and when we arrived in France, he was very kind, and he worked hard to reach that level and got where he is. Courage to these parents and his family, rest in peace Pierre."
Daily Mirror
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Tributes paid to jump jockey, 23, who died after suffering stroke in saddle
Pierre-Alfred Grondin, originally from Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, had spent the last ten years in France trying to make a career as a jockey Tributes have been paid to a young jump jockey who died after suffering a stroke in the saddle. Pierre-Alfred Grondin, who was 23, was born on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean and arrived in France ten years ago to try to make a career as a jockey. According to media reports in France he was riding out at work in Maisons-Laffitte when he suffered a cardio-neurovascular incident, just eight days before he was to turn 24. Grondin had never ridden a horse when he arrived in mainland France aged 14 and joined Afasec, the body which recruits and trains people for roles in the horse racing industry. He spent his first year with trainer Fabrice Chappet, in Chantilly, before moving to Maisons-Laffitte where he worked for Jehan Bertran de Balanda. He rode his first winner at Auteuil for Balanda in 2021 and had a career tally of eight wins in total. His last success was at Compiegne in March 2024. He had had ten rides in 2025. Balanda told Paris-Turf: 'He stayed with me for four or five years. I had sent him to Yannick Fouin for a month or two. 'He was a great kid, who loved horses. He was very conscientious, very hard-working. He really didn't deserve to leave so soon. ' On Saturday a minute's silence was observed before the first race at Dieppe where the jockeys wore black armbands in his honor. His friend, Gabin Meunier, dedicated his victory to him. Many tributes to Grondin were posted on the Facebook page of DLG et les Acteurs de Galop. One said: 'I still remember I passed the selection tests at the Island of Reunion to enter this school and we were in the same group. I think he had never taken horse riding lessons but he showed us his motivation and his potential. 'We were in the same group to leave and when we arrived in France, he was very kind, and he worked hard to reach that level and got where he is. Courage to these parents and his family, rest in peace Pierre.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Night mayor makes it easier for Ottawa bars to stay open until 5 a.m.
Ottawa nightlife commissioner Matthieu Grondin is making it easier for the city's bars to temporarily extend their liquor sales until 5 a.m. In the review of Ottawa's special events bylaw, which goes before council on May 28, Grondin recommends lifting the city's requirement for an additional license for venues seeking a temporary extension of hours — when they are already properly licensed. The move will streamline the process of extending alcohol-service hours beyond Ontario's regular closing time of 2 a.m., reducing paperwork and avoiding duplicate inspections. Farid Dagher, who runs two electronic-music venues, City at Night at Bank and Slater, and Gridwrks, his new spot on Rideau Street, said it will be a big improvement over the current system. The existing bylaw, enacted in 2002, requires events where 'the principal activities include listening and dancing to music,' to obtain an All Night Dance Event license when applying to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for an extension. According to city staff's review of the special-event bylaws, the license was originally designed to counter the popularity of 'underground dance events commonly referred to as 'raves.'' The All Night Dance Event license calls for an extra round of inspections at the applicant's expense, a detail that Dagher said is unnecessary for a licensed venue. 'It's like you're having to get a license over an existing license to do the same thing but at a different hour,' Dagher explained, adding that he's had some amusing encounters with inspectors while applying for the All Night Dance Event license. 'They would come in and be like, 'Well, this is going to be quick because we were here not too long ago.' So we would laugh about it because it's just the process, but we always thought that somebody should challenge that,' he said. The amendment to the bylaw now recommends a letter of 'municipal significance' be attached to the AGCO application for a temporary extension, instead of the all-night dance event license. 'The letter typically indicates that the City agrees the proposed event is of municipal significance, as it benefits the greater good of the city,' wrote Valérie Bietlot, the city's manager of public policy development, in response to an email inquiry. Final approval from the AGCO is still required for the extension. What's more, the city is adopting 'a more flexible definition of municipal significance,' added Grondin, that takes into account the social, cultural, or local economic development impacts of the event. Contrary to widespread perception, there is a market in Ottawa for after-hours activity, and it includes shift workers, hospitality staff and other night owls, as well as electronic-music fans. Of course, ever since the heyday of raves, it's been traditional for electronic-music shows to run into the wee hours. As a booker, Dagher said the ability to program longer sets not only provides a unique experience for fans but also allows for a 'progression' of acts, building a vibe throughout the night. Making the paperwork easier helps prevent the rise of illegal after-hours parties, too. 'If you make it too complicated to get the permits, you may give clandestine events a reason to do it without permits,' Dagher said. 'There are spaces that are known to be doing it, and when they start selling alcohol illegally, it's no longer a safe space for the customers.' Dagher gave kudos to Grondin and his advisory Nightlife Council group for bringing the issue to the attention of city authorities during this year's review of special events bylaws. 'He's really advocating for us,' Dagher said. 'He's talked to a lot of people to try to identify what the pain points are, and he's advocating for these changes. 'It's like he's initiating a culture of change and I feel that as we start getting these changes, the politicians and policy makers will maybe have a better read on what these changes mean in terms of outcomes, and they may become more comfortable and accepting of nightlife. We're pretty happy with that.' Rick Laplante, the veteran Ottawa promoter/DJ who's a member of the volunteer Nightlife Council, said the amendment is a good example of the type of thing the council is looking to simplify. 'We're trying to make recommendations to remove a lot of this kind of red tape and redundancies that we see in some of the business-licensing bylaws that are in place, especially for dance events,' he said. 'Typically, our culture lives at night and thrives at night. And when we do have the opportunity to extend our hours, it's inclusive to a whole segment of Ottawa's population that works off hours or works at night. 'Ultimately, it's a couple of extra hours of dancing at the end of the night, but I think it goes a long way toward our shared goals of having an expanded and financially successful nightlife.' Following council approval, the amending by-law will be enacted immediately to exempt establishments and events already operating under an AGCO license from the requirements of the all-night dance event license. lsaxberg@
CBC
06-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canada's Grondin wins snowboard cross gold after securing season title in Quebec
Social Sharing Éliot Grondin didn't let up after securing the men's snowboard cross overall World Cup season title. About 24 hours later, the Sainte-Marie, Que., native defeated Frenchman Aidan Chollet in the big final on home snow at Mont-Sainte-Anne on Sunday. Loan Bozzolo, Chollet's teammate, placed third in the final World Cup event of the season Grondin has back-to-back Crystal Globe wins on the World Cup circuit, and it comes a week after he won world championship gold in Switzerland. The 23-year-old needed a top-three finish in Saturday's event to claim the Crystal Globe and followed through with a loss in the big final to Austria's Jakob Dusek. Grondin won three gold medals, three silver and a bronze on the World Cup circuit this season. WATCH | Grondin sits down in Switzerland to talk snowboarding success: Éliot Grondin sits down in Switzerland to talk snowboarding success 11 days ago Duration 14:19 The two-time Olympic snowboarder tells CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis about what the support of his community means to him and how he lost the gold medal at Beijing 2022 by a 'photo finish.'
CBC
05-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canada's Éliot Grondin clinches snowboard cross Crystal Globe with silver-medal win in Quebec
Sainte-Marie, Que., native has now won back-to-back overall season titles Image | Grondin-Eliot-795265225 Caption: Canada's Eliot Grondin, shown in this file photo, won World Cup silver medal on Satruday to clinch a Crystal Globe for overall season winner. (Paul Brechu/) Canada's Éliot Grondin won a snowboard cross silver medal at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que., on Saturday to clinch the overall World Cup season title. The 23-year-old from Sainte-Marie, Que., needed a top-three finish in Saturday's event to claim the Crystal Globe and accomplished that by narrowly losing the big final to Austria's Jakob Dusek. Nathan Pare of the United States took bronze. Grondin now has back-to-back Crystal Globe wins on the World Cup circuit, and it comes a week after he won world championship gold in Switzerland. WATCH | Grondin shreds to a snowboard cross world championship title: Grondin has won two golds, three silvers, and a bronze medal on the World Cup circuit this season. On the women's side, France Lea Casta earned her third World Cup win of the season while Mia Clift of Australia took silver to land on a World Cup podium for the first time in her career. Swiss racer Sina Siegenthaler claimed bronze. Tess Critchlow was the top Canadian, finishing fifth by winning the small final. The final World Cup event of the season streams live on CBC Gem and beginning on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
