It’s an evening that table tennis fans won’t soon forget. 5,000 people gathered Tuesday, December 17 at the André Vacheresse hall in Roanne for a meeting between Roanne Loire Nord table tennis (RLTT) and the Nîmes-Montpellier Alliance… of the Lebrun brothers, Bronze medalists at the Paris Olympics and superstars as talented as they are close to their audience.
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A signing session that never ends and always with a smile, eyes sparkling, ready to take a selfie with parents and children. If we are inexhaustible about the Lebrun brothers for their talent at “ping” as they like to say, we will probably never emphasize enough their relaxation and their patience with their fans. And that’s not an easy task…
Because on Tuesday evening, the Halle Vacheresse, usually the home of the Roanne Choir, had been transformed to accommodate 5,000 hot spectators. Supporters of Roanne Loire Nord table tennis of course who were playing there a late match of the 2nd day of the Pro A championship. But also fans of the brothers Alexis and Félix Lebrun, French stars of “ping” at the Paris Olympics and members of the Nimes-Monpellier TT Alliance, opponent for one evening.
It’s great for ping to attract more and more people. There, it’s a championship match in front of 5,000 people, it’s the first time I think. Knowing that Alex and I are contributing to this craze obviously makes us love it.
Félix Lebrun, double Bronze medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
We could say that the purely accounting aspect was secondary, as the Montpellier residents were widely considered winners by the entire public. In fact the final score was clear: 3 matches to 0 for Montpellier.
The 5,000 places were sold in 48 hours. The result isn’t important, we know we’re going to lose, we’re going to try to win a set if we can, that’s about it, but it’s great.
Olivier, licensed at LNTT
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It’s an evening that fans of table tennis, or “ping” as the young people say, will not soon forget. 5,000 people gathered Tuesday, December 17 at the André Vacheresse hall in Roanne for a meeting between Roanne Loire nord table tennis (RLNTT) and the Nîmes-Montpellier Alliance … of the Lebrun brothers, Bronze medalists at the Paris Olympics and superstars as talented as they are close to their audience.
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©FranceTV
Yet the evening brought chants, support and hopes for the home team. But nothing to do: Alexis Lebrun, Antoine Hachard and Esteban Dorr, the three Montpellier players of the evening were too strong.
The only real disappointment for the supporters was the non-participation of Félix, preserved by his team. But this slight annoyance was largely compensated for by the infinite patience of the Lebrun brothers, when signing the phone cases, the ping rackets, the T-shirts and taking tons of selfies.
Alexis does not shy away from her pleasure, and her sincerity is a pleasure to see.
It worked in our favor but it was a great show and a great advertisement for French ping. Well done to the Roanne club for the organization, we know it’s not easy and it was really nice this evening.
Alexis Lebrun, team TT bronze medal at the Paris Olympics
A real communion between the public of a little publicized sport – before the Olympics – and athletes always surprised by their popularity. Christian, a fifty-year-old licensed at LNTT, analyzes things lucidly: “it’s great, that’s where we see that in France when there are results, the spectators are there. Who thought that the Lebrun brothers were going to to be medalists at the Olympics? And now they are setting the country on fire!”
