Paralympic Games: Hanquinquant's gold launches a cascade of medals

It was barely noon in Japan and seven new medals had lined the French table at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, including one gold, won by Alexis Hanquinquant in the triathlon, and one silver obtained by Marie-Amélie Le Fur.

Triple reigning world and European champion, Hanquinquant, for his first Games, assumed his role of favorite in the PTS4 category and offered France its third Paralympic title, while setting the tone for a generous day in medals. .

To discover

• The full Olympic program

• The Olympic medal table

"

The plan went perfectly

", relishes the Norman of 35 years, amputated of the right leg below the knee following an accident at work on a building site in 2010. He was then champion of France of boxing full contact for the able-bodied. "

The best strategy was to attack, when I get out of the water and I'm told 25 seconds apart, I tell myself that it's really a good day

", describes the triathlete who relegated to close by four minutes his Japanese pursuer Hideki Uda, after 750 m of swimming, 20 km of cycling and 5 km of running.

This distance was also successful for Annouck Curzillat, 29 years old.

The visually impaired triathlete took the bronze medal (PTVI category) with her guide Céline Bousrez, at the finish, for two short seconds, and climbed for the first time on an international podium.

As for Marie-Amélie Le Fur, for her fifth Games, she succeeded in winning a ninth medal.

Holder of the title in the long jump (category T64), the president of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) came close to keeping it with a last jump to 6.11 meters, too short of only five centimeters.

Marie-Amélie Le Fur THOMAS LOVELOCK / AFP

A mess of bronze medals

On the track of the Izu velodrome, the biggest purveyor of French medals since the start of the Games, the duo formed by Raphaël Beaugillet and the seven-time world champion in the able-bodied, François Pervis, took the bronze medal for the tandem kilometer for 82/100.

“

Finally!

», Savored the visually impaired cyclist.

“

And thank you to François for joining the project.

Today, we have become one.

"

Three medals of the same metal fell in table tennis.

The experienced Thu Kamkasomphou, 52, scored a sixth individual podium (Class 8) in six Games.

She started her Paralympic adventure in 2000 with a title in Sydney (in Class 9 at the time).

As in Rio, wheelchair table tennis player Maxime Thomas also took third place in individual (Class 4), his fourth Paralympic medal added to those obtained by teams.

It was imitated by Lucas Créange, in Class 11, dedicated to cognitive disabilities.

France 11th in the medal ranking

Thanks to this harvest, the French delegation is 11th in the ranking of nations with a total of 18 medals (three gold, five silver and ten bronze).