The French fencers, who came within a touch of an Olympic team title, oscillated between (a lot of) bitterness and (a little) satisfaction. Assuring that, soon, only the pride of having won a medal would remain.
At the Grand Palais
They parade. One after the other. Or in pairs. Or sometimes all four. The smiles are there, but seem to be on automatic mode. The looks, themselves, are the mirrors of their great disappointment. The French fencers lost in the final in sudden death. One touch to decide between gold and silver. The Italians won. By the skin of their teeth, when they were trailing by 4 points. The regrets will be eternal.
Auriane Mallo-Breton is the one who shows the most signs of disappointment. Her eyes still red from crying, she is the one who conceded the fatal touch after having carried her team all day. Here she is adorned with two medals. Individual and team. Both silver. For the gold that flew away each time in sudden death. Infuriating. “If someone had told me that a week ago, I would have taken them without hesitation. But hey, when you’re in the final and you’re twice one touch away from being Olympic champion, there’s always a bitter taste that remains.”laments the Lyonnaise.
Also read: 2024 Paris Olympics – Fencing: Auriane Mallo-Breton will take a break
So, only pain, no satisfaction? “The feeling is mixed,” admits Auriane Mallo-Breton. “We’re going to celebrate but it’s really scary. It’s cruel. Twice in sudden death for me, it’s complicated. Even more so this one because I wanted so much to put the finishing touches on the girls. And the Italian throws her thing, touches my hand, I don’t even know how. This outcome hurts, but that’s sport…”
The French team tries to keep smiling on the podium. Peter Cziborra / REUTERS
Alexandra Louis-Marie, a substitute who entered the final for a relay that hastened the Italians’ comeback a little more (2-4), is wringing her hands. Is this fatal outcome her fault? “I was under a lot of pressure. It was my first Games. It wasn’t easy to come back on the penultimate relay. I felt a bit of pressure because I didn’t expect the crowd to support me so much. We were leading and we didn’t know how to put the nail in the coffin. Afterwards, we have no regrets because we gave it our all. And, in sudden death, it’s heads or tails…”
Auriane collapsed on the track, overwhelmed by defeat, shaken by sobs. Before her teammates picked her up, comforted her. “We consoled her, we told her that it wasn’t her fault and that she is still a double Olympic vice-champion. She must be proud of her two medals, of her two performances.”underlines Alexandra Louis-Marie. So what feeling predominates two hours after this semi-failure? “I’m disappointed with the sudden death defeat and happy with the medal. For the moment we’re a little disappointed, but we’ll quickly put it into perspective. In truth, we’re really happy with this silver medal. Finally, after so many world championships without any medals!”
Bitterness despite the medal
A statement that approves Auriane Mallo-Breton. “That’s for sure. We know that we started from a long way back, a twelve-year effort with all the girls, not just the four of us, who have been to INSEP. It’s a truly collective medal that rewards many complicated world championships in recent years.” Same summary for Coraline Vitalis, whose bad relay (the 7th, lost 2-5, precipitated the comeback of the Transalpines and the final defeat): “I’m a little sad, because it really came down to nothing. But I’m also happy with the progress we’ve made. It’s our first international medal, the fruit of twelve years of work.”
The fourth musketeer, Marie-Florence Candassamy, far from her level as reigning world champion, sums up the general feeling. “At the time, we won’t hide it, we felt very sad. But afterwards, it’s still a great medal that we’re going to savor. It’s been a complicated year, no one was betting a dime on us. So this medal is worth its weight in gold…”
Access the slideshow (18)
