It’s already time to take stock for the France team after the first day of the Paralympic Games in Beijing. On Saturday March 5, the tricolor athletes unlocked the medal counter thanks to Arthur Bauchet and Hyacinthe Deleplace in alpine skiing. Disappointment on the other hand for the Blues of the biathlon with Anthony Chalençon, only 9th, and the standard bearer Benjamin Daviet who finished at the foot of the podium.
Alpine skiing: Arthur Bauchet and Hyacinthe Deleplace start the harvest, Marie Bochet is scared
The day of glory has arrived for Arthur Bauchet. Always placed, never winning in South Korea four years ago, the skier from Serre-Chevalier finally holds his first Paralympic title (standing category). At 21, the double world champion in Lillehammer last January brought gold to the tricolor clan in the downhill. Imperial in his trajectories to get ahead of the Austrian Markus Salcher, crowned in Sochi in 2014, the kid from Pyeongchang has become big. And it could still take on another dimension in the coming days, starting on Sunday during the Super-G (from 3 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. French time, on France.tv then France 3).
History will remember that a few minutes earlier, it was they who really put the French team on track in Beijing. On the Yanqing track, Hyacinthe Deleplace and his guide Valentin Giraud-Moine went to snag the bronze (visually impaired category). A first medal at the Winter Games for the Haut-Savoyard based in Grenoble, who had participated in the London Summer Games ten years ago in athletics.
For the eight-time Paralympic medalist, this first day has everything from the worst nightmare. Double title holder of the discipline, Marie Bochet saw the pass of three fly away after a few seconds on the descent, when her ski got lost after the second gate. A fixing problem that made the 28-year-old Savoyard green with rage, who intends to take her revenge on Sunday.
Biathlon: Benjamin Daviet fails at the foot of the podium, disappointment for Anthony Chalençon
The one who guided the Blues in the Bird’s Nest on Friday with the tricolor in hand failed to defend his title in the six-kilometre sprint in biathlon (standing category). Yet off to a good start on skis, Benjamin Daviet was surprised on the first shot, missing the target on his fifth ball. Despite a faultless second shot, the 32-year-old biathlete and cross-country skier did not manage to catch up on his main competitors and had to settle for fourth place, at the foot of the podium.“A silly mistake”will regret the Frenchman who will be back in Zhangjiakou on Monday in cross-country skiing for the 20 kilometer classic.
In the visually impaired category, Anthony Chalençon was looking for a first individual medal after winning gold in 2018 in the 4×2.5 kilometer relay. Accompanied by his guide Brice Ottonello, the 31-year-old biathlete could not do better than 9th place, with four penalties. The Morzine-Avoriaz skier will also switch to cross-country skiing on Monday.