Rowing swells the record of the Blues in these Tokyo Olympics. 24 hours after the gold medal of Matthieu Androdias and Hugo Boucheron in two sculls, rowers Claire Bové and Laura Tarantola took bronze on Thursday morning – at 3.15 am in France – in their lightweight two-scull category. A discipline where the athletes in the boat cannot exceed 59 kilos. The ninth medal of the French clan since the start of these Games, the third of this metal.
Qualified in a very tough final where the British and Italians had in turn beaten the world record the day before, the 2019 European vice-champions justified the very early awakening of their supporters in France. In second position one kilometer from the finish, Laura Tarantola and Claire Bové – licensed in Mantes-la-Jolie – were virtually no longer on the podium 500 meters from the line. Before the end of the race which allowed them to take second place, 14 hundredths behind Italy. Third, the Netherlands are ahead of the United Kingdom by one hundredth in this crazy race judged by photo-finish.
This is the second women’s medal in the history of French rowing at the Olympics. In 1996, Christine Gossé and Hélène Cortin took bronze in two without a rider at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
