Ugo Didier in gold, Marie Patouillet silver pioneer… The recap of Thursday’s day

The Paralympic Games began on Thursday and the French team already has three medals in its bag, one gold and two silver, thanks to cyclist Marie Patouillet and swimmers Ugo Didier and Alex Portal.

After a successful opening ceremony at Place de la Concorde on Wednesday evening, the events of the Paris Paralympic Games began on Thursday, August 29. The French team was able to count on Marie Patouillet to collect its first medal, as in Tokyo. In the Paris La Défense Arena basin, Ugo Didier then brought a first Paralympic title to the Blues. Franceinfo: sport takes stock of this first day of competition.

Marie Patouillet, lucky charm of the French team

Three years ago, in Tokyo, she had already shown the way to her compatriots. After the Japanese bronze, Marie Patouillet did it again in Paris by opening the medal count for the French team. In the 500 m C4-5 time trial (amputees or those with functional loss of the upper and/or lower limbs), the paracyclist – with her time of 36”70 – was only beaten by the impressive Dutchwoman Caroline Groot (35”57) and won the silver medal. Kadeena Cox, favourite for the title, fell in the final.

Coached by Grégory Baugé, nine-time world champion on the track, Marie Patouillet adds a third Paralympic medal to her collection after the two bronze medals in Tokyo. The Frenchwoman will try to enrich her glittering list of achievements a little more in the pursuit on the track and the road events.

Ugo Didier’s Gold Rush

Para-swimmer Ugo Didier went for the most beautiful metal in the 400m freestyle S9 (swimmers with a slight deficiency in the coordination of arms and legs, a significant weakness in one leg, or the absence of limbs). At the end of a perfectly managed race, the Frenchman adorned himself with gold in the Paris La Défense Arena pool. In 4’12″55, he beat the Italian Simone Barlaam (4’14″16) and the Australian Brenden Hall (4’15″61).

To go for his first Paralympic gold medal and the first for the French team in these Games, Ugo Didier started cautiously, unlike his Italian lane neighbour. Sixth after 100m of racing, he was in third place at the halfway point, 2”20 behind Simone Barlaam. The Frenchman then let loose and finished like a cannonball to overtake his most serious rival in the last 50m, swum in 31”21 – his fastest length of the race after the start. A result that bodes well for Ugo Didier, also entered in the 50m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley.

Alex Portal starts his harvest

He contributed to the successful start of French para-swimming. A little less than three hours after his great friend Ugo Didier, with whom he shares a room in the village, Alex Portal also won his first medal, silver, in the 100m butterfly S13 (ccomplete ecity or significant visual impairment). As in the series, the native of Saint-Germain-en-Laye had to give in to the reference Ihar Boki, who won his 17th Paralympic medal. Fourth in the event in Tokyo three years ago, this time he climbed on the box. “I’m happy with my race, second while I came fourth in Tokyo, it’s a good start for my competition I think”he savored on France 3 after his race.

Fabien Lamirault still had the flame

On Wednesday evening, he lit the Olympic cauldron alongside four other para-athletes. On Thursday, early in the afternoon, he was already on deck for his debut in the MD4 men’s doubles para-table tennis competition. Fabien Lamirault qualified for the semi-finals with his partner Julien Michaud, after a close five-set victory over the Polish pair Rafal Czuper-Tomasz Jakimczuk (11-3, 7-11, 14-12, 7-11, 11-9). The French duo is guaranteed to win a medal, since the two pairs beaten in the semi-finals on Friday will be awarded bronze.

Difficult start for team sports

The first day was more mixed for team sports. For its players’ first Paralympic match, the French sitting volleyball team, defeated in three sets (25-7, 25-20, 25-7), did not hold up against Kazakhstan. The two goalball teams also started their Games with a defeat, a hard-fought loss for the women against Canada (10-0), before a slightly tighter match for the men against the Brazilians, reigning Olympic champions (8-5).

The great satisfaction of the day came from the solid victory of the Blues of wheelchair rugby. In the same opening match as their Paralympic tournament in Tokyo 2021, against Denmark, they again won by two points (53-51).