Second day without a medal for the tricolor delegation in these Beijing Winter Olympics. This Thursday, February 10 will be forgotten, especially for Alexis Pinturault, who experienced terrible disappointment on the handset. Skater Kevin Aymoz came out satisfied with his day, with a convincing 12th place individually.
Alpine skiing: Pinturault misses his reunion with the combined
He was happy to find the handset. Event abandoned in 2021 on the Alpine Skiing World Cup, which combines downhill and slalom, the combined is an event cherished by Alexis Pinturault, quadruple winner of the small crystal globe of the specialty (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020). During a more than delicate season, “Pintu” knew that this event was his chance to get his head above water and leave Beijing with an Olympic medal.
Nothing will happen. In silver on the combined in 2018 in Pyeongchang (South Korea), Pinturault was this time too far. Disappointing in the descent (nearly two seconds behind the leaders), the Frenchman took all the risks in the slalom in order to catch up. To the point of hanging a stake after a few seconds of racing and causing amazement in the French clan.
“I think I made a big mistake on the descent which cost me dearly. Behind, I have the knife to my throat, I only have one option left, I try everything for everything. (…) It’s disappointment and sadness, I’ve seen better days“, explained Alexis Pinturault, in tears after the race. Hit in the shoulder during his fall, the Frenchman should still participate in the giant and slalom events in the coming days.
Figure skating: Aymoz and Siao Him Fa in the top 15
We left him on Tuesday, absolutely delighted after his appearance in the short program. This Thursday, Kevin Aymoz did not lose his smile. Fifteenth in the free program which took place in the Beijing Sports Center, the Frenchman finished in 12th place in the general classification of the individual competition, won by the American Nathan Chen. “I’m very proud of who I am, of all the work I’ve done,” reacted Aymoz after the competition. “I only want to start a real season and enjoy it.”
Same feeling of satisfaction on the side of Adam Siao Him Fa, who takes 14th place in this individual competition after finishing 13th in the free programme. “Those first Games were really great. I only take positives from this experience. (…) I tore myself off and took pleasure. I have no regrets“, assured Siao Him Fa, author of his best score of the season on the free program (163.41). Enthused by these first Olympiads, Aymoz (24 years old) and Siao Him Fa (21 years old) will have four years ahead of them before to return to the Games in Milan in 2026.
Snowboarding: Merlin Surget finishes at the gates of the final
Pierre Vautier, winner of the gold medal in snowboard cross in 2014 and 2018, will have to wait a few more years before finding a successor in the tricolor clan. Merlin Surget, however, gave everything to follow in his footsteps. But for the 22-year-old, the step was still a little too high. Eliminated in the semi-finals, Surget still managed to win the small final and finished 5th in these Games.
“The level was quite high. I’m still happy to be 5th and to win the small final, it’s a small victory for me. I needed a bit of relaxation, to have more speed and to try to be more in They had the fangs, I had them too, but I was missing a little detail.” explained Surget at the microphone of France Télévisions, while specifying to aim for a medal in four years. The other two Frenchmen involved in snowboard cross, Loan Bozzolo and Léo Le Blé Jaques, were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Cross-country skiing: Bentz and Gal finish far
Half an hour of effort to struggle in the soft stomach. At the end of the 10 km classic, Coralie Bentz and Mélissa Gal followed each other on the finish line, three minutes behind the Norwegian Olympic champion Therese Johaug, already winner of the skiathlon. In this event last Saturday, Bentz finished 38th. It was this time in 40th place that she finished the 10 km classic, out of the 98 participants who took the start. Mélissa Gal finished 41st, eight seconds later.