Pierre Quinon, whose father was an 800 metres runner, started his pole vaulting career at the Rhodia Club Omnisports (athletics section), which is based in the town of Salaise-sur-Sanne (in the department of Isère). Pierre's father coached him at that club. Pierre did his first pole vaulting training session in the Lyon suburb of Saint-Priest under the supervision of his coach, Christian Bourguignon, who was from Lyon. He made his pole vault competition debut in 1976, at the age of 14, in the town of Le Péage-de-Roussillon (in the department of Isère). He became the French national champion at the youth level (under the age of 18 years) in 1979. He burst onto the scene at the national level in 1981 thanks to a height clearance of 5.50 metres outdoors. He won the silver medal at the 1981 European Junior Championships in Utrecht by clearing a height of 5.30 metres. In 1981, Quinon joined the Racing Club de France in Paris and trained there on a group basis with Patrick Abada, Jean-Michel Bellot and Thierry Vigneron (a former pole vault world record holder), all under the supervision of Jean-Claude Perrin, who was a member of the club's coaching staff.