ZHANGJIAKOU | Even though she obtained the best result of her career at the Olympic Games, Marie-Michèle Gagnon wondered about the significant gap that separated her from the winner.
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Gagnon took the 8and rank of the descent, the start of which was delayed by 30 minutes due to strong winds and interrupted for another half hour due to a major fall by the French skier Camille Cerutti.
“I am satisfied yes and no with my result, mentioned Gagnon. At the Games, in the eyes of the athletes and the public, only the medals count. I did not start in the hope of inflating my number of Top 10.
“An 8and place is a great result, but I really wanted more, to pursue the Lac Etchemin skier. I skied for more. I knew that my 3and provisional place would not hold because there were still very good girls after me, but I did not think that there would be such a big gap with the winner.
Gagnon could not understand the gap of 1.6 which separated her from the Swiss Corinne Suter who won the gold. “We did very, very similar runs and I can’t see how I could have done better,” said. There were a few small differences, but we had the same line of attack. When there is such a discrepancy, one can usually easily identify the errors, but this is not the case.
“I’m confused,” added Gagnon, whose best result at the Games was an 8th place in slalom in 2014 in Sochi. It won’t change the result, but we will have to analyze the two rounds more closely to try to find answers. I want to know.”
Food for thought
Gagnon identifies a few factors that could explain this discrepancy. “Was the track faster after my passage, she wondered. In men, the best results were recorded by skiers who left later because the track was faster the longer the day progressed. Was my skis or the wind a factor. Unlike one of my last World Cup races, I didn’t feel the wind was a factor.
Violent fall
Starting with bib number 27, Cerutti suffered a violent fall when she lost control on landing a jump. Her cries of pain as she slipped through the protective nets caused dismay.
The race was interrupted for 30 minutes to allow the medical team to evacuate the Frenchwoman on a stretcher. “I saw the fall, but I quickly turned around, I didn’t watch the replay and I didn’t ask for information,” Gagnon said. Because I have suffered serious injuries during my career, it causes me anxiety when I see incidents like this. I hope it will be correct.”
The French team published the diagnosis on its tweeter thread. “Following his downhill fall, Camille Cerutti suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and an injury to the medial meniscus of his right knee. She will be repatriated as soon as possible to France.”
No alpine combined
Gagnon will not take part in the alpine combined which will take place on Wednesday night. “I did not prepare, explained the former specialist in technical events. With the presence of several good downhillers, it would take a stroke of luck for me to win a medal. I’m going to prepare for the next World Cup and I’m going straight back to Europe. Unlike most athletes, I will not have the pleasure of returning home.