Thunderbolt at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The hope of French snowboarding, Julia Pereira de Sousa fell in the semi-final.
Nothing is ever guaranteed in sports competitions like the Olympic Games, but some athletes are, despite everything, more expected and preferred than others. Among the French athletes who compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics, this is the case of Martin Fourcade in biathlon, Tessa Worley in giant slalom in alpine skiing, but also Julia Pereira de Sousa in snowboard cross.
The young woman was competing on Wednesday February 9 in the semi-final of snowboard cross, and she was the victim of a terrible accident.
A competitor touched her snowboard during the race, causing her to fall. Julia Pereira de Sousa was therefore not qualified for the semi-final. And she couldn’t hold back her tears of disappointment at the end of the race.
Julia Pereira de Sousa in tears
As she confided to the Eurosport microphone: “They stole my final of the Olympic Games and that, I have it through. The more the runs passed, the more I improved. Lo and behold… I got mowed down, I got hit on the board and I fell. I didn’t make a big mistake, it’s not my fault… I’ve heard about this race for four years. I was there, I could go and get it but it slips under my nose in two seconds, it’s hard. Today I deserved to go to the final. I’m very happy for Chloé but it’s hard.”
Small consolation indeed for the young woman, another Frenchwoman, Chloé Trespeuch, climbed on the 2nd step of the podium and was crowned Olympic vice-champion, behind the American Lindsey Jacobellis.
Julia Pereira de Sousa finished 5th in the competition by winning the small final far ahead of all her competitors.
Julia Pereira De Sousa: youngest French Olympic medalist
If his disappointment is bitter, the surprise is also big for snowboarding enthusiasts. Indeed, everyone was waiting for a first place for Julia Pereira de Sousa, or at least a podium.
And for good reason, the young woman is the youngest French Olympic medalist. In 2018, at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, she won the silver medal in the final at the age of 16, thus entering the history of the Winter Olympics.
She will therefore have a major revenge to take in 2026 in Milan.