Long minutes after the triumph of Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron on the Beijing ice rink, Nathalie Péchalat never stops shedding tears. The former skater, who became president of the French federation almost two years ago, is struggling to recover from her emotions. “I started crying from the program of the Americans (Editor’s note: antepenultimate pass), blows the mission manager of the tricolor delegation. We know that all the lights are green, that they have everything they need to win. On paper, they have all the records. But the tension is there. It’s not all about knowing you’re the best in the world, it’s about proving it at the right time. They had no room for error, they knew it, I knew it. I did not enjoy the program emotionally. I was too focused on all the technique…”
The challenge beyond the game. The gold of Papadakis-Cizeron, twenty years after the Anissina-Peizerat duo, comes to crown two exceptional champions after two difficult years for them and complicated for a federation affected by cases of violence sexual. “It’s important because it was such a mess for two years that it was not won, sobs Péchalat. We knew that was the main objective and all together we made sure that everything moved forward and that we always prioritized this gold medal which was going to happen if all went well. They are two on the track, the Montreal team has done an extraordinary job but everyone counts. The clubs, the federation, the league, the teachers who trained them, I’m thinking of Gabriella’s mother too (Editor’s note: at the origin of the duo). This is the moment when we can turn around on the trajectory. »
With the success of the blue-white-red pair, the whole industry is smiling again. “It’s going to change their lives, that’s what they’ve been waiting for for years,” continues Péchalat. But for the federation it is an ultimate satisfaction to say that we have succeeded in carrying out this project. All at our level we made sure that it went as well as possible without eating up the other projects. We come a long way. Honestly, we have come a long way…”
Through its grace and the emotion it transmits, the new golden duo reaches an audience that goes far beyond blade purists. What perhaps arouse vocations and attract new young followers in the hexagonal ice rinks. “When you have charismatic champions like that who win, inevitably it makes you want to, smiles the bump of the FFSG. Me at nine years old, in Albertville, it was the Duchesnays who made me want to do it. There is someone who will read these lines and who in twenty years will be on top of the world in figure skating. With that and the Mondial de patinage behind in France (Editor’s note: from March 21 to 27 in Montpellier), it’s perfect to give impetus to a new generation. »
