Bittersweet day Saturday for the French in Beijing: if Benjamin Daviet, “happy”, wins silver in cross-country skiing, his third medal, the star Marie Bochet ends his glorious Paralympic career with a fall in slalom.
The penultimate day of these Games (March 4-13) was also marked by the performance of Canadian cross-country skier Brian McKeever, 42, who equaled the record for the number of titles (16) for a male athlete at the Paralympics. . Flag bearer for the French team during the opening ceremony, Benjamin Daviet once again honored his status with this silver medal in cross-country skiing in the middle distance (standing category). On the slopes of the northern site of Zhangjiakou, the 32-year-old Haut-Savoyard, native of Annecy, was preceded on the wire, by a little more than a second, by the Chinese Wang Chenyang.
“I am really very happy with this silver medal. I think I didn’t have the crazy feelings I had yesterday. I was a little tired after a complicated night“said Benjamin Daviet. “It must be played at three or four centimeters. That’s how it is, it’s sport, you can’t win everything either.Benjamin Daviet had already won the Paralympic titles in cross-country sprint and individual biathlon this week. He will still compete in the long distance relay on Sunday, where he promises to “rip one’s guts outto search for a new medal.
On the other hand, new disappointment for Marie Bochet: eightfold Paralympic gold medalist, the French star of the last decade in winter para-sport ended her stay in Beijing with a fall during the slalom (standing category). “I’m a little relieved that it’s over, because it was so dense these Games“Reacted on the verge of tears the 28-year-old champion.
“I was so lacking in landmarks, lacking in feelings (…) I put my heart and my guts into it, I tried not to let go.“After a fall last weekend in the descent, Marie Bochet had managed to win the silver in the super-G, but had finished off the podium in the super combined (5th) and in the giant slalom (4th). A record far from the ambitions displayed by the champion. “We’ve been isolating ourselves for two months, we’ve been in trouble because of the Covid, we’ve been away from our loved ones. Was all that too long for me, who am very sensitive? May be“, she analyzed. Certainty in any case: these Beijing Paralympics were his last. “I believe that these Games also showed me that it was really over, that I had really gone to the end of things“, even if “I don’t know what the future will holdfor now, she said.
France 4th in the medal table
Still in alpine skiing, and for the good story: three Austrian sisters found themselves on the slalom podium (visually impaired category). 19-year-old Veronika Aigner won her second Paralympic title in two days, guided by her 23-year-old sister Elisabeth. Their little sister Barbara, 16, won the silver.
The Ukrainians continue their harvest of medals, despite the situation in their country: cross-country skiers Oleksandra Kononova and Iryna Bui finish in gold and bronze over the middle distance (standing category). Finally, in wheelchair curling, Canada beat Slovakia (8-3) Friday night in the bronze medal match.
With Benjamin Daviet’s performance on Saturday, France now has ten medals (including 6 gold). It retains its 4th place in the country ranking. China is still first (57 medals, including 17 gold) ahead of Ukraine (28, including 10 gold) and Canada (23, including 8 gold). To be continued on Sunday on the French side: the cross-country ski relay therefore, but also the men’s alpine skiing where the young Arthur Bauchet, 21 years old and already titled twice in Beijing, will notably be aligned in slalom.
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