Paul Rouget, Media365: published on Friday September 6, 2024 at 12:04 p.m.
Heidi Gaugain and Kevin Le Cunff were beaten in the sprint of the women’s and men’s C4-5 road race on Friday and had to settle for silver.
A few minutes apart on Friday morning, Heidi Gaugain and Kevin Le Cunff experienced a similar and cruel end to the race during the C4-5 road event (low coordination deficiency on one side of the body or legs, moderate coordination on one leg, or absence of limbs), being beaten on the wire after launching the sprint. Already second in the 3,000m individual pursuit, behind her compatriot Marie Patouillet, then in the time trial, Gaugain first won her third silver medal on Friday at these Paris Paralympic Games, in Clichy-sous-Bois. The young Mayenne native (19 years old), born without a left forearm, nevertheless believed she had won her duel with the illustrious Sarah Storey. Except that after having made the gap on the English legend (46 years old), she was caught up just before the finish line by the one who won her 19th gold medal at the Paralympic Games, the 14th in cycling against 5 in swimming.
“I’m not moving on to anything yet”
“It’s good, I did the race I wanted. Really, from A to Z, I ran exactly as I wanted to run. I missed some in the final and I’m “disgusted” because I’m still at nothing,” Gaugain then regretted on France Télévisions. Maybe I launched too far… But that’s where I had to do it because I’m more explosive than her on the hills. But the end is so long, there was still a kilometer to go…” Before concluding, very disappointed: “Damn… Shit…” Disappointment was also in store for Kevin Le Cunff, who launched the sprint 1 kilometer from the finish, in a four-man end of the race with his compatriot Gatien Le Rousseau, as well as the Dutchman Martin Van de Pol and the Ukrainian Yehor Dementyev. And it was the latter who won in a strong manner, beating Le Cunff, the defending champion, in extremis, while Le Rousseau finished just off the podium. Kevin Le Cunff, born with two club feet, will have to settle for this silver medal, after having been crowned in the time trial, ahead of Le Rousseau. “We lacked freshness,” he regretted.
