Olympic Games 2022: money, chocolate and ice cream on the menu for the first official day of competition

Back to the day’s events.

Money makes French biathletes happy. Anais Chevalier-Bouchet, Julia Simon, Emilien Jacquelin and Quentin Fillon Maillet took second place in mixed relay, behind favorite Norway and ahead of Russia, and won the first French medal in Beijing. After a difficult first stint in shooting for Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, Julia Simon put the Blues back in the lead of the race. Emilien Jacquelin, whose fingers were frozen, lost ground with two penalty laps before Quentin Fillon Maillet was edged down the line by Johannes Boe, exceptional on skis. If Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet had already won bronze in Pyeongchang in the relay in 2018, this is the first Olympic medal for her teammates of the day.

Read also Beijing 2022 Olympics: French biathlon silver medalist in mixed relay

Among the less good news, Benjamin Cavett had to settle for the chocolate medal in mogul skiing. The Frenchman, author of a very good run, finished fourth in a very tough final. It’s Swedish Walter Wallberg who won the gold, ahead of the Canadian Mikaël Kingsbury, master of the discipline for almost ten years.

Read also Olympic Games 2022: Swedish Wallberg titled in mogul skiing, Benjamin Cavet fails at the foot of the podium

In snowboarding, Lucie Lefevre was eliminated from the contest. slope style in qualifying, due to a fall in his second run. She finishes at the 27^and position, far from the first twelve qualifying places. Lefèvre announced at the end of the event, on the microphone of France Télévisions, that this race was his last: “I’m sad it ended like this, but it was my last run. No one knows, except my family, but I made the decision to quit after the Games. » The native of Briançon will still compete in the big air event from Monday February 14th.

The first title of these Olympic Games went to the Norwegian cross-country skier Therese Johaugwho won the race women’s skiathlon (7.5 kilometers in classic style and 7.5 kilometers in freestyle). The first Frenchwoman of the event, Delphine Claudelends at 9^and square.

Olympic records fell on the first official day of competition, in speed skating. The Dutch Irene Schouten completed the 3,000 meters with a time of 3 minutes, 57 seconds and 93 hundredths to win gold, and the Chinese Hwang Dae Heon broke the record for the men’s 1,000 meters, in the quarter-finals, in 1 minute, 23 seconds and 42 thousandths.

Discover tomorrow’s menu.

The French clan could glean new medals on Sunday. The greatest chance lies in Perrine Laffontreigning Olympic champion, who will set off for the finals of the mogul skiing from 12:30 p.m. (French time). His compatriot Camille Cabrol will have the opportunity to join her in the final if she finishes among the best in the qualifications, contested from 11 a.m.

Read also Beijing 2022 Olympics: Perrine Laffont, the epicurean of moguls

From 4 a.m., early risers will also be able to support French skiers during the descent. Four tricolors are involved: John Clarey and Blaise Giezendannerwho scored a World Cup podium in Kitzbühel at the end of January, accompanied by Matthew Bailet and Maxence Muzatonselected after training with the French delegation on the Yanqing track.

Finally, in cross-country skiing, Hugo Lapalus, Clement Parisse, Maurice Manificat and Jules Lapierre will represent France at the skiathlon 15 kilometers + 15 kilometers from 8 a.m. (French time).

The Games in a snapshot.

Falls rain on the Beijing ice rink. In speed skating and in short track, many athletes bit the ice on Saturday. Among them were unfortunate Frenchmen, of whom Tifany Huot Marchand (in photo), eliminated in the first series of the women’s 500 meters. In the mixed team relay, the Blues reached the quarter-finals, but a fall deprived them of qualification for the rest of the competition.

Reporting : Short-track: the vicious circle of lack of resources and a resourceful French team

The Olympians on the microphone.

“ On an Olympic track where everything is new, you really want to get the same amount of training. »

Marco Odermatt was not the only one, Saturday February 5, to be reassembled after not being able to… go down the Yanqing track. Like the Swiss, the majority of skiers, who are due to compete on Sunday in the Olympic event of descent, were unable to benefit from a final training session on the eve of the event. Only three of them – including the 2014 Olympic champion Matthias Mayer and the world number in downhill and super-G, the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde – were allowed to race down the slope before the International Ski Federation (FIS) pulled back the curtain due to too strong a wind. “There are still three favorites who made one run more than the others, that’s the big problem. If they had canceled this morning, there would have been no problem.summarized John Clareyathlete representative to the FIS.

8

This is the number of Winter Olympics in which the German has participated Claudia Pechstein. Despite her experience and five Olympic titles, the speed skater couldn’t keep up with her competitors and finished 20^and from 3,000 meters in Beijing. She was already present in Albertville in 1992 and only missed the Vancouver Games in 2010 due to a doping affair.

Snapshot of our special envoys.

It is difficult to escape in the official press of the Olympic Games the apology of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the glory of Eternal China. The titles are raining: China upholds the Olympic ideal”, “The Games promote a shared future”, “A Golden Vision”… President Xi is a gold medal winner in every aspect.

the Winter Olympian China Daily – this is the gazette published and distributed in the press center since the beginning of the Games – even offered its readers, in its February 2 edition, to discover “How President Xi’s Leadership Delivers a Fantastic, Extraordinary and Excellent Winter Olympics”. An editorial content full of nuances…

Sports department