Tears of happiness flowed widely at the foot of the Hungarian wall. Capucine Viglione and Manon Lebon will experience their first Olympics this summer, in Paris. Both were out in the quarter-finals this Saturday in Budapest, a few hours after the qualification of Mejdi Schalck and Sam Allez in the final of the combined bouldering/difficulty. But the duo accumulated enough points across the two Olympic Qualifier Series to validate their place at the Olympics.
No French record this time for Viglione, like in Shanghai, a month earlier, but the main thing is elsewhere. “I finally breathe, I breathe deeply, blurted out the reigning French champion. I am really happy. It was tough training, tough competitions. I guess I’ll take a week to understand and then I’ll start training again, that’s what I wanted to do with my summer. I didn’t want to imagine it any other way. Coming down from my run, I thought it wasn’t happening, it was horrible, I couldn’t breathe. And then I was told that I was qualified, I continued to cry because if I’m not crying, there’s something wrong with me. Manon (Good) is too strong, we’re going to represent France together and train this summer, it’s so good. I can’t wait to experience all of this. »
“I have so much difficulty realizing what is happening, such a flurry of emotions that I cannot explain it enough., smiles Manon Lebon. I’m so happy, and at the same time, I tell myself that it’s not possible, I’m like in a dream. I think it will take me a good week to realize it, probably by seeing my family again (in the meeting). For a month, it’s going to be training, training, training, to get to Paris. There remains the second part of the path to be completed now. I can’t wait to be at the Games: I’m going there to play my card, we’re all going there for the podium. »
Among the men, Bassa Mawem, winner of the European tournament in October, will be the only French representative this summer at Le Bourget and will therefore experience his second Olympics after those in Tokyo. The French speed team therefore qualified three climbers out of four possible.
