Last night, Alexis Pinturault‘s medal hopes vanished at the same time as his fall in the slalom, while the first confirmed case of doping at these Olympic Games was Iranian. Otherwise, no new medal for the Blues, who remain stuck at six medals this Thursday, February 10 (1 in gold, 5 in silver).
Pinturault, more fear than harm
On the sporting level, the fall of Alexis Pinturault during the second round of the Alpine combined caused many regrets, the Savoyard being one of the favorites with the gold charm. Beyond the disappointment, his loss of balance could have been much more serious. And could have called into question the rest of his Olympic tournament (he must play the Giant on the night of Saturday to Sunday), or even his season.
“My physical integrity is affected. I land on my elbow, it goes up my right shoulder, and I feel a crack,” he said in tears after the race. Finally, the medical reports are rather reassuring for the Courchevel skier. The Savoyard “suffers from trauma to the right shoulder. (…) The assessments confirm a simple contusion of the shoulder. Everything is in place for it to be competitive during the giant slalom on February 13, 2022,” the CNOSF said on Thursday.
French women lagging behind in cross-country skiing
Coralie Bentz and Melissa Gal, the two tricolor athletes engaged in the 10 km classic of the cross-country skiing event, were not aiming for a medal. Far behind the Norwegian winner Therese Johaug, who adorned herself with gold after an unbreathable and hotly contested finish with the Finnish Kerttu Niskanen (+ 0.4), the French women finally finished in 40th and 41st places. “I am disappointed with my race, I am not in great shape at the moment and I was not on top today, regretted Bentz on France Television. We still have to stay positive, because I still have some races left. In bronze four years ago, Johaug won his second individual gold medal five days after his Olympic title in skiathlon.
Off the road for Hamilton, USA puts on a golden show
Stylistic sensation of these Winter Olympics, with his mustache and long hair, American curling star Matt Hamilton could not prevent the defeat of Team USA in the preliminary round of the competition – in which the France — against Sweden (4-7). Reigning Olympic champions, the United States had started their adventure with a success against Russia (6-5), before being surprised by the Swedes they had beaten in the final of the Olympic Games four years earlier.
In ice hockey, and while awaiting the result in particular of USA-China, the Finnish Olympic vice-champions in 1988 and 2006 made short work of Slovakia, devoured 6 goals to 2. Finally, in freestyle skiing, brand new terribly spectacular Olympic winter discipline, not without displeasing a certain Martin Fourcade, we can note the gold medal pocketed by the American mixed team (338.34 points), obtained ahead of China (324.22 points) and Canada (290.98 points).
The results of all the French people involved
Alpine skiing : 10th in the first men’s heat, Alexis Pinturault fell in the second. Johannes Strolz (Austria) Olympic champion ahead of Aleksander Aaamodt Kilde (Norway) and James Crawford (Canada).
Snowboard cross : Loan Bozzolo and Léo Le Blé Jaques eliminated in the quarterfinals, Merlin Surget 5th. Alessandro Hämmerle (Austria) Olympic champion ahead of Eliot Grondi (Canada) and Omar Visintin (Italy).
Cross-country skiing: Coralie Bentz 40th and Mélissa Gal 41st in the women’s 10 km classic, Therese Johaug (Norway) Olympic champion ahead of Kerttu Niskanen (Finland) and Krista Parmakoski (Finland).
Figure skating : Kevin Aymoz 12th and Adam Siao Him Fa 14th in the men’s free program, Nathan Chen (United States) Olympic champion ahead of Yuma Kagiyama (Japan) and Shoma Una (Japan).
