British Brothers Aim for Olympic Glory in Canoe Slalom at Paris 2024: A Tale of Triumph and Rivalry

2024-07-27 04:30:02

Paris Olympic Games 2024. Seated canoe slalom, this Saturday (3 pm)

It is a story about a British family living in Gouesnac’h (29) with two children who play sports. While his older brother Jean-Pierre Bourhis plays tennis, his younger brother Yves tries judo. This is before their father pushed them one after the other to sign up for the Quimper-Cornouaille Canoe-Kayak club to practice a sport that would later allow them to have a summer job as an instructor, not reaching many years in after that, her two offspring would be entitled to three Olympic Games in a row under the flag of Senegal, her mother’s country.

Three years older, Jean-Pierre Bourhis was the first of the two to win this Cup through the precious quota and the only Olympic quota awarded in single seat canoe slalom won by a representative from the African continent twice in a row. In Rio, the elder Bourhis placed 18th and was unable to enter the semi-finals. Ditto five years later in Tokyo with 17th place.

Jean-Pierre Bourhis (left) and his brother Yves in 2016 after Jean-Pierre’s selection for the Tokyo Olympics was announced. (Luc Besson archive photo)

A fratricidal duel in Sainte-Suzanne

In the case of Tokyo, the two brothers could be in a fratricidal encounter during the Olympic qualifying event played in the Spanish harbor of La Seu d’Urgell. But injured (shoulder dislocation), Yves was unable to compete for the African quota with his brother Jean-Pierre, although he finished fifth in the Olympic test event in 2019.

This duel finally took place this year at the beginning of February in Sainte-Suzanne in Reunion when Yves, the eighth, but the first African, met his brother Jean-Pierre, not in favor of the forecast.

“I was injured for a long time in 2023 and only returned a month before this selection. Physically, I knew I was a bit tight, but I mastered the beginning of the course well which allowed me to save as much as possible. »

“I will be in Vaires to encourage Yves”

How Jean-Pierre responded after seeing his little brother that he did not participate in the third place in the Olympic Games. “Brother or not, at the time, I was very disappointed. It was complicated for a month or two. I even thought about stopping competing. But today, I’m back at it and I’m really looking forward to the Los Angeles Games. And in a few days, I will be in the stands to cheer on Yves. I’d rather be in the pool, but I’m very glad it’s there. »

“I know the pool well”

Truth be told, the two brothers don’t have that many opportunities to cross paths. Although Jean-Pierre now lives in Pau as close as possible to the artificial basin, Yves is based near the Olympic site in Vaires-sur-Marne from 2021. “It was a choice at the time I made at think of the Olympics in Paris. . I work as a company treasurer about ten kilometers away in Champs-sur-Marne, which allows me to have time to train with the fifteen athletes based in Vaires, including the Bretons. »

And the little brother hopes to do better than the older one who failed to make it through the series in Rio and then in Tokyo. “Obviously playing the Olympics in France is a dream, but it’s not a goal either. Now that I’m there, I want to give myself the opportunity to go looking for a medal. The level is definitely very high, but it is an advantage for me to know the pool well. It’s special but I train there every day. I will be ready for the big day.”