With ten gold medals, France has already surpassed its Rio total, thanks to three new charms in table tennis, wheelchair tennis and cycling. Here is everything to remember from Friday.
Lamirault-Molliens drop out on the 10th
French table tennis players Fabien Lamirault and Stéphane Molliens, already crowned in Rio, won the tenth French gold medal on Friday, beating in the team final (Class 1-2) the South Korean pair Soo Yong Cha and Jin Cheol Park . “We came as the number one favorite, we found number two in the final. It was the expected final, it was as tense as it was five years ago, long, not won in advance ”, summarizes Fabien Lamirault.
It took the French five sets to win the first doubles match against the Koreans (4-11, 11-4, 11-8, 12-14, 11-8). Before Fabien Lamirault, already crowned in singles Monday, then brings the point of victory by beating Yong in four sets (11-5, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6). “That’s what I wanted to do, it was far from being written,” appreciates Lamirault, paraplegic since a car accident in 1997. “I can leave Tokyo with the feeling of having done the job”.
Houdet even more in the legend of wheelchair tennis
The flag bearer of the French delegation Stéphane Houdet and his doubles partner Nicolas Peifer retained their title in the final of the wheelchair tennis tournament. The French pair beat Britons Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid 7-5, 0-6, 7-6 (6/3) in a remake of the Rio final five years ago. “This medal is huge, reacts Stéphane Houdet. The English have won everything since the start of the year, are seeded number one. “
It also arrives at the end of a game with a crazy scenario with an air gap: a series of nine lost games.
“We argued in the second set, explains Stéphane Houdet. I missed a ball and Nico made a gesture of annoyance by letting go of me: since a while ago you’ve been doing anythingi. “Suddenly, we played each on our own for five games,” said Nicolas Peifer to explain the second set lost 0-6. At 50 years old, Stéphane Houdet, who has 23 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles, topped his record with a fifth Paralympic medal, a third in gold.
Irresistible Kévin Le Cunff
Cyclist Kévin Le Cunff won in the road race (category C4-C5). Present among a group of five riders who broke away in the first part of the race, he made a final attack two kilometers from the line to win in the pouring rain after 92.5 km (average: 41 , 1 km / h). “I came to win, even second, that did not interest me”, he delivers. This is the 33-year-old runner’s first Paralympic Games.
Former professional within the Saint-Michel Auber team between 2017 and 2019, Kévin Le Cunff even had a victory among the able-bodied in the Buckles of the Alder in 2018 in front of the former French champion Arthur Vichot and Guillaume Martin, eighth in the last Tour de France. Born with two club feet, he underwent two arthrodesis on his ankles (blocked by operation) and retains an atrophied calf. However, he only joined the world of disabled sports in 2020, no longer finding a professional contract.
Two new bronze medals
France won five medals in all on that day in Tokyo. Added to these three gold medals are the two bronze charms of the day: that of the Lloveras – Ermenault tandem in class B cycling in the road race, and that of the kayaker Rémy Boullé in KL1.
