The 1989 generation in power.
Both born that year, Kevin Rolland and Tessa Worley will have the honor of being the French flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on February 4.
A bonus for experience, as much as a legitimate consecration for these two immense champions who have therefore been designated by their peers, namely the 26 ambassadors chosen by the general public.
A somewhat surprising choice, all the same, as the name of the couple on ice composed of Guillaume Cizeron and Gabriella Papadakis often came up, while two other favorites, skier Alexis Pinturault and hard worker Perrine Laffont, had to give up due to timing. with their competition and the distance between their competition venues and the Bird's Nest where the ceremony will take place.
To discover
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics medal table
Two emblems of French winter sports, which share another point in common than their simple year of birth: that of never having been Olympic champion. Almost an incongruity. With her 15 giant victories, Worley is indeed in the Top 3 of skiers who have won the most events in the discipline in the World Cup. Without forgetting her two world titles in 2013 and 2017. But the Olympic podium has, until now, always been stubbornly refused to her, between her discovery of the Games in Vancouver in 2010 finished in 16th place, her break from a right knee cruciate ligament which deprived her of Sochi in 2014 and her poor performance in Pyeongchang where she had to settle for 7th place, when she was going to finish 2nd on the World Cup circuit behind Viktoria Rebensburg. The proof,if need be, let the universe of the rings remain apart. But in Beijing, for what will probably be her last Games, the skier from Grand-Bornand hopes to fill this gap in her list.
“Competition and the Olympic Games are my life, that's what I love. I couldn't give up. »
Kevin Rolland
What does Kevin Rolland share, even if the Plagnard has already been able to taste the podium with his bronze medal brought back from Sochi in the halfpipe.
But in Pyeongchang, everyone remembers the nightmare he had in the final.
His body was scattered "
like a puzzle
" in his own words due to various falls, including one five days before his entry into the running which left him with this medical report: "
I have a cervical contusion, a muscle tear in the quadratus femoris , a muscle of the pelvis.
Then I have bruises on my buttocks but that, who cares.
“But as he confided later, missing the Games was not an option for him:”
I couldn't miss this appointment.
Competition and the Olympics are my life, that's what I love.
So I couldn't give up.
I said to myself that on a misunderstanding, maybe it could pass.
It didn't.
It's hard, but that's how it is.
»
Somehow, his designation recalls that of Samir Ait Said for the Summer Games last year in Tokyo.
The gymnast had also paid a heavy price on the physical level in Rio, without ever letting go.
“
Resilience
“, like the title of the documentary he produced on his world record attempt which almost cost him his life in April 2019, and the long rehabilitation that ensued.
Five-time winner of the X Games, the other reference competition in freestyle skiing, Kevin Rolland only dreams of Olympic gold to come full circle.
Even if there is nothing to say conclusively that he will not be able to go to Milan in 2026, if Beijing were not to happen as he wishes.
But in the Chinese capital, Rolland and Worley will have a double mission: personal, with their quest for gold, and collective, with this role of standard bearer which will suit them like a glove.
Benjamin Daviet will lead the Paralympic delegation
Never two without three.
If Tessa Worley and Kevin Rolland share the role of flag bearer of the tricolor delegation to the Beijing Olympics (see elsewhere), Benjamin Daviet will be alone to assume this function during the Paralympic Games.
The triple Paralympic Nordic skiing champion succeeds skier Marie Bochet, who had already been named flag bearer for the closing ceremony at the Pyeongchang Olympics.