The former European ice dancing champion was beaten on Saturday for the presidency of the Ice Sports Federation (FFSG) by a novice, Gwenaëlle Noury, who won the election with 52.3% of the vote.
Former European ice dance champion Nathalie Péchalat was beaten on Saturday for the presidency of the Ice Sports Federation (FFSG), which she had held since 2020, by a novice, Gwenaëlle Noury, who won the election with 52.3% of the vote.
Nathalie Péchalat had assured in recent days that her only competitor, Gwenaëlle Noury, was remotely guided by the former president of the FFSG Didier Gailhaguet, who had resigned in the spring of 2020 accused of having covered up a coach implicated in rape and sexual assault.
Gwenaelle Noury won 52.3% of the vote (and not 52.8 as initially indicated by the federation), against 47.7% for Nathalie Péchalat. 136 out of 161 clubs voted (including 70 by proxy).
The general assembly, which was held at the headquarters of the French National Olympic Sports Committee (CNOSF) and was closed to the media, ended in some hubbub and confusion.
Despite the solicitations of several media, Gwenaelle Noury had not expressed himself anywhere in the press. For his part, Gailhaguet defended himself from wanting to influence the election. “I have nothing to say, I left federal life (…) I am not a candidate for anything”, he had assured the Sunday newspaper.
The latter reigned on the skating rinks almost without discontinuing for more than two decades.
But after the explosion caused by accusations of sexual violence in sport, his sixth term had ended suddenly in 2020.
Barely elected, the new federal team led by Nathalie Péchalat had passed new statutes limiting the number of terms to three and making him de facto ineligible for the post of president.