Paralympic Games: the double that we saw before, playing in blind football, Tokyo beyond… Review of Wednesday September 5

2024-09-06 00:45:32

Reporter

It was perhaps the most beautiful cycling race of these Paris 2024 Games and the spectators owe it almost exclusively to the one-man show of Mathieu Bosredon. Already a gold medalist in the trials in the H3 category, he also did it in the road race. Better yet, the 33-year-old Frenchman won after being slowed by a puncture while alone in the lead.

His recovery takes 45 seconds, long enough to allow his pursuers to overpower him. But Bosredon came back, he even drew his teammate Johan Quaile for a time. In the end, he shows up alone, while Quaile shows up as a big fish. A new double tricolor, as on the clock (H3). “This 2nd Paralympic title stands for perfection,” said the insider. Even in the worst case scenario I was able to get this gold medal. »

Results of the French

The classic team of these Paralympic Games: thank you cycling! The Para-cycling Blues have added four new medals to their collection. Beyond the Bosredon-Quaille double, Florian Jouanny started the day perfectly with the title in the H1-2 category. Loïc Vergnaud, he won a silver medal which is “golden value”, according to him, behind the Dutch favorite Mitch Valize (H5). Joseph Fritsch did not have the same success. The handbiker fell before giving up.

Grimace also gave Pierre Fairbank in sports. For his last Paralympic race, the Caledonian finished 800 m (T53) at the foot of the podium. The 50-year-old will not win a tenth medal at the Games. Timothée Adolphe would not win his first gold medal in Paris. “White Cheetah” may update his nickname to “Silver Cheetah”. After the second place over 400 m (T11), he will have to be content to eat once again into the second hand iron at the end of 100 m.

Sandrine Martinet will be happy with money. The para-judokate lost in the end he arrived at the age of 41. The Francilienne now completes an already rich collection of three silver medals and above all a title in Rio.

Finally, para-swimming has almost turned into a team sport. Ugo Didier signed his third podium with silver in the 200m medley this Thursday. Before delivering an anecdote which recalls Joris Daudet’s look back during the BMX event at the Olympic Games to ensure that the historic tricolor is confirmed. “I saw that I was touching the second, I looked immediately where the third light was and I saw it very low, at the water line of Hector,” the swimmer told us about Denayer, tanned at the same distance.

Para-youth has another honor. Laurent Chardard’s third place in the 100m freestyle (S6) took the Paris 2024 athletes beyond the total number of medals won by the delegation sent to Tokyo three years ago. He brought home 55 medals. At home, the Blues already have 61 podiums.

In the picture

Fred Villeroux’s goal allowed the Blues to qualify for the final. LP / Jean-Baptiste Quentin

Reference by Frédéric Villeroux. The gesture, often described as not very educational, proved especially effective on blind soccer fields. The number 10 of the French team can testify to this: the number 41 year 10 sent the Blues to the final of the competition thanks to this strategy. Blind ball “Zizou” scored the only goal of the game against Colombia in the semi-final. See him on Saturday in the final against Argentina, who beat Brazil on penalties.

And that…

• Two levels, three titles. Jetze Plat is not only a fast rider, he is also a good swimmer. Already the title in the triathlon in the PTWC category, the Dutchman successfully won the time trial and cycling race (H4).
• The generosity of Oksana Masters. Double title in para-cycling in Paris, the Paralympic legend promises to donate his winnings “to a group for children, especially for Ukraine”. The American was born in Ukraine, where he was a victim of radiation from the Chernobyl disaster.
• A medal for Jean-Louis Michaud. The former Sniper won his first Paralympic medal in the 50m pistol in a sensational day after his failure in the 50m 3 positions.
• The auto tricolor will not suffer. The foilists secured the first French podium for the discipline. During the minor final, Valet, Tokatlian, Lemoine and Peter came back from a 5-touch deficit to tame the Italians.

Sentences

“We go back to the question of resources, all these groups are professionals. We eat bananas. It is PSG playing against Carquefou. But we won! We will do what we know how to do and go get the (gold) medal. »

Toussaint Akpweh, coach of the French blind football team qualified for the final, to the newspaper L’Equipe

And tomorrow, Friday 6 September?

The 25th cycling medal, the reason announced before the start of these Paralympic Games Paris 2024, could fall as early as this Friday, while the French team will still have the opportunity to complete its collection on Saturday in this discipline. The tricolor patrol will be very equipped to find these three additional podiums.

Dorian Foulon, Gatien Le Rousseau and Kévin Le Cunff in the road race in the C4-5 category for men, the unclassified Heïdi Gaugain and Marie Patouillet in the C4-5 for women, Elie de Carvalho and Alexandre Lloveras in the B category and Anne-Sophie Centis, also classified in B, will be in the streets of Clichy-sous-Bois in search of rare metals for French cycling.