“It should not happen at the Games”, the soaring hopes of triathlete Vincent Luis

A false start, and a finish far behind. For Vincent Luis, the long-awaited triathlon of the Tokyo Olympics turned, Monday, July 26, into a nightmare. “It was not a great day, and from the start, I felt that I was not that great”, commented the double French world champion, finally 13^e on the line. Accustomed to making a difference from the first cables of the swimming event, the Frenchman saw his wings cut off after about fifty meters of bouldering. “It was strange, it may be the first time in my career that there is a false start, and I had trouble getting back into action behind”, blew the fallen favorite. Due to the movement of an untimely boat, the race had to be interrupted, and restarted soon after.

⚡? The presence of a boat on the water obliges the organizers to give the start of the men’s event to… https://t.co/N2r4hWGkIs

– francetvsport (@France tv sport)

“I saw a boat waving to us, I thought we were a little too far to the right, recounted Vincent Luis, who got off to a great start in the water. And then he put himself squarely in front of us, and there I understood that there was a problem. This kind of thing shouldn’t happen at the Games, but it was the same for everyone, we had to re-mobilize. “ Unable to widen a significant gap in the water, the French triathlete joined the bank and started the cycling event in a peloton of favorites. With his compatriots Dorian Coninx and Léo Bergère and a few other runners, the Frenchman tried to create breaks on the roads of Odaiba Marine Park, at the edge of which the residents had gathered to encourage the participants. In vain, and it was during the race that the ordeal ended; without the French, stuck in a false rhythm.

“I immediately felt when I got off the bike, from the first kilometer, that my legs were not responding, and that it was going to be a ten milestone that I was going to have to manage. ” Explaining that he injured his calf in June, Vincent Luis admitted that he had felt, in recent weeks, “Not having the level to make a podium, despite very good preparation”. Once again, his Olympic dream escapes him, as in the hexagonal triathlon, efficient but still fanny in medals since the incorporation of sport to the Olympic gratin, in 2000.

“A failure”, according to the DTN of the triathlon

Dorian Coninx took the lead for a while, but the Frenchman broke down on the last lap (2.5 km). “I tried, but at one point, I leveled off, and it was a long descent, going uphill”, commented the triathlete, finally 17^e. Léo Bergère completes the French trio, at the 21^e square. “It’s a failure, because we could have a lot of ambition, recognized the national technical director (DTN) of the triathlon, Benjamin Maze. The challenge now is to be present on Saturday morning [à l’épreuve mixte], and to make a big blow to be able to return with a little less bitterness than there. ”

It was without the Blues that the outcome of the race took place. In conditions a little less stifling than expected, it is a man from the cold who pulled out of the game. Escaped in the last lap of the race, the Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt won his country’s first gold medal at the 2021 Games. “We had prepared so well for the heat that we were a little disappointed with my team, in fact that it was not hotter”, smiled the winner after receiving his medal. The Norwegian ended his race in disbelief, expecting at any time to be nibbled at the line by a faster runner, but he was well ahead of Anglaix Alex Yee and New Zealander Hayden Wilde on the podium. “Me, I come from Bergen, a city where it rains most of the time in the year, and where it is ten degrees, so the heat is a test, but it always motivates. ”

For Vincent Luis, the Olympic dream is once again postponed. But unlike Rio, where the Frenchman wondered if all his efforts were worth it, he is already anticipating the rest. A mixed team race, from Saturday, where the Blues will again be among the favorites, which could unlock the safe that is for him the Olympic podium. And then, very quickly, the Paris Olympics in 2024. “Three years, it’s going very quickly, anticipates the French. I am already refocused on what is happening. We must stay the course. “ Hoping, this time, that even in the event of a false start, he will finish as a winner.