The fourth day of the European Championships in Munich (Germany), Sunday August 14, allowed French athletes to win 12 new medals. The Blues won two new titles, in triathlon and in track cycling, but also four silver medals and six bronze.
France is in fourth position in the medal table, behind the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany. Back on what not to miss of this day.
Triathlon: on the roof of Europe
We take the same ones and start over, or almost. The French Léo Bergère, Emma Lombardi, Dorian Coninx and Cassandre Beaugrand won gold in the mixed triathlon relay. They were well ahead of Germany and Switzerland, in this format consisting of four relays of 300 meters of swimming, 7.2 km of cycling and 1.6 km of running. During the second stint, Emma Lombardi took the lead and her teammates held on to her to cross the finish line 33 seconds ahead of the competition.
A great conclusion for the Tricolores, the day after a historic hat-trick for the men and two days after Emma Lombardi’s bronze medal “This is the icing on the cake”reacted to the microphone of France Télévisions Léo Bergère, individual European champion.
Track cycling: Vigier king of speed
His power made the difference. Track rider Sébastien Vigier won the gold medal in individual sprint. He beat Briton Jack Carlin at the end of the third set, after conceding the first. This is his second individual continental title, after his coronation in Berlin in 2017.
The second Frenchman in the running, Rayan Helal, downgraded in his semi-final, managed to win bronze against another Briton, Hamish Turnbull. The 23-year-old track rider won his first individual medal in a major championship.
Among the women, Victoire Berteau won bronze in the points race. The French could not do anything against Lotte Kopecky (Belgium), unreachable with her three laps ahead of her pursuers. The Italian Silvia Zanardi completes the podium.
Road cycling: Demare, the money disappointed
Leader of the Blues on Sunday, Arnaud Démare had not hidden his ambitions as the European Championships approached, he who had skipped the Tour de France. After a sprint on the Odeonplatz in Munich, it was the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen who won, just ahead of the Frenchman. A nice revenge for the 25-year-old rider, seriously injured in 2020 at the Tour of Poland.
Arnaud Démare, vice-champion of Europe, however, did not hide his disappointment at the microphone of France Télévisions: “Another second place [après les championnats d’Europe 2020], Jakobsen was very strong. (…) It was a nerve-wracking day.”
Rowing: three silver medals to finish
It was the last day of rowing competition in these European Championships on Sunday, and the French boats won three titles of vice-champions of Europe. Silver medalists at the Tokyo Games, Claire Bové and Laura Tarantola confirmed their status by finishing second in the lightweight double sculls final.
The French also shone in para-rowing, with the French mixed cox four, made up of Erika Sauzeau, Margot Boulet, Jérôme Hamelin and Laurent Cadot, along with coxswain Emilie Acquistapace. The French pair Perle Bouge and Stéphane Tardieu complete the tricolor list thanks to their second place in the mixed doubles, overtaken by Ukraine.
Climbing: the Bertone surprise
Oriane Bertone, last qualified for the bouldering final, managed to take the bronze medal on Sunday. Thanks to two very successful blocks, validated to the top, the 17-year-old Habs was able to grab third place, behind the Slovenian Janja Garnbret, already titled in difficulty, and the German Hannah Maul. The other Frenchwoman in the final, Fanny Gibert, finished sixth.
The Blues, on the other hand, drew a blank in the difficulty test. None of the three entered in the semi-finals managed to qualify among the eight best. Sam Havesou, silver medalist on Saturday in bouldering, failed quite early in the event, and only hung 21 holds out of the fifty to climb.
Gymnastics: tanned Blues
A great day for French gymnasts. Aline Freiss won the bronze medal in the jump, her first international charm at 19 years old. With an average of 13.599 points after her two jumps, the Frenchwoman placed third behind the Hungarian Zsofia Kovacs (13.933) and the Italian Asia D’Amato (13.716). The latter, titled in teams and individually, injured her ankle during her second jump, and had to forfeit the beam.
Competing on uneven bars, Lorette Charpy also won bronze, ahead of Elisabeth Seitz (Germany) and Alice D’Amato (Italy). However, she was injured during her reception, weakened by a rupture of the cruciate ligaments from which she has been recovering for a year.
On beam, it was Carolann Heduit who completed the harvest, third behind Germany’s Emma Leonie Malewski and Britain’s Ondine Achampong. This is also her first international medal, a satisfaction for the 18-year-old gymnast who finished at the foot of the all-around podium.
The fourth Frenchwoman entered, Morgane Osyssek-Reimer, finished in seventh place in the floor competition. It was the Briton Jessica Gadirova who won, ahead of two Italians, Martina Maggio and Andrea Andreoli.
Table tennis: on the way to the medal
Great success in table tennis for the French mixed doubles, since the pair composed of Emmanuel Lebesson and Yuan Jianan qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament. They are thus assured of a medal, the discipline disappointing the bronze to the two losers of the semi-finals.
On the other hand, Simon Gauzy and Prithika Pavade stop in the quarter-finals. They lost their match 3 sets to 1 against the Austrians Robert Gardos and Sofia Polcanova. The latter will face Emmanuel Lebesson and Yuan Jianan on Monday afternoon.