Gold should have been at the end of the story.
Instead, there will remain bitterness, and no doubt a sense of incomprehension, to put it mildly.
Before flying to Beijing, Tess Ledeux had become the first woman to perform a "double cork 1620", namely a jump consisting of four and a half turns in the air, during the X Games.
A feat which, inevitably, gave her the status of immense favorite to win the Olympic title in the Chinese capital.
But as she had wisely said herself before the start of the tests, her "status did not guarantee anything in Beijing".
Still it was a question of succeeding again.
During the various training sessions, the confidence of La Plagnarde had been exponential, as and when his successes.
remained the
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Tess Ledeux knew something about it for having experienced it at her expense four years ago in Pyeongchang when, a slopestyle podium candidate, she had totally cracked to collapse in an anonymous 15th place, so far from her dreams and ambitions. .
But the refrain is well known in high-level sport, we always learn more from its failures than from its successes.
And that's what the Frenchwoman was able to do this Tuesday during the first Big Air final in the history of the Games.
From her first jump, the cousin of Kevin Rolland struck a blow by landing her “double cork 1620” almost perfectly, which earned her a score of 94.50.
A magnificent start, and absolutely necessary because the local heroine, Eileen Gu, had put the pressure on her with a jump to 93.75.
Gold so close...
The Chinese did not release her grip with a second score of 88.50, even if she found herself overtaken by the Swiss Mathilde Gremaud (89.25, then 93.25).
In other words, even admiring the amazing performance of the French, the competition was not decided to roll out the red carpet for her towards the first step of the podium.
To end the suspense, Tess Ledeux had to achieve another feat.
In this case a “1440 switch”, i.e. four spins in the air after leaving with your back to the springboard.
Thrills guaranteed.
With a score of 93, the gold medal seemed almost around his neck.
She herself, moreover, could not think of it.
Hence his terrible disappointment during the last jump.
...And suddenly everything fell apart
By succeeding in her turn a “double cork 1620”, which she had never attempted in competition, Eileen Gu succeeded in her incredible bet by obtaining a score of 94.50, for a total of 188.25.
This allowed her to pass in front of the Frenchwoman, now with her back to the wall knowing that she had to try a new jump, and not reproduce one of the two so beautifully made.
The mission became impossible and unfortunately, this final flight changed nothing: in front of her ecstatic public, Eileen Gu, 18, won the first Olympic title in Big Air history.
A final that will be remembered.
With a closed face, Tess Ledeux has probably not finished rehashing it and wondering if the marks obtained were not due, at least a little, to the fact of evolving at home…
