No gold but an unexpected double for swimmers Ugo Didier and Hector Denayer

Straddling their lane, Ugo Didier and Hector Denayer face each other, arms mirrored. Still a little dazed, the two friends are preparing to share the podium in the 200-meter medley on Thursday, September 5, second and third respectively (in the SM9 category, dedicated to swimmers with coordination deficiencies, a weak leg or the absence of limbs).

A repeat performance for the French, who were already together on the podium of the European Championships in Funchal (Portugal) at the end of April, in this same event (gold for Didier, silver for his younger brother). “We had dreamed of it at the European Championships and we had done it. This time, we didn’t even talk about it because we knew there was a lot of competition, we just tried to do our own race and give the best of ourselves.”said Hector Denayer. At just 19 years old, the member of the Alliance Dijon Natation had already won silver in the 100m breaststroke (SB9), for his first Paralympic Games.

For his 22-year-old elder, it is the third medal since the start of the competition, after gold in the 400m freestyle on the first day and silver in the 100m backstroke. When I see the light come on on my plot, I’m super happy, I immediately look where the 3rd one came on^e light and when I see that it’s Hector at the very end, I can’t believe it, played by Ugo Didier. [Ce doublé]we hadn’t even considered it because the competition was so intense. Sharing a Paralympic podium is an extraordinary moment.” With medals around their necks, the two Frenchmen enjoyed the moment with their audience, waving in front of the sea of ​​tricolour flags.

Hello and lap of honor

This double – the second after that of the Portal brothers – is all the more unexpected since on Thursday morning, in the series, Hector Denayer had given himself a scare, qualifying extremely narrowly. “I was a bit lucky to get into this final, but I knew how to make the most of it. This role of outsider suits me well, I’m at home, I’m putting on a show like I know how, commented the cadet, who suffers from agenesis of the left hand. I started quickly in butterfly, in backstroke, I managed to hang on and once I started in breaststroke, I didn’t see anyone anymore, I was isolated in my corner.”

He worked hard in the last fifteen metres to finally clock a time of 2 min 17 s 34. The big favourite, Australian Timothy Hodge, was never troubled (2 min 13 s 31), despite the strategy put in place by Ugo Didier (2 min 15 s 98). “I knew it was going to be very difficult to get him. I wanted to go hard enough to make him panic a little and get him to tense up in his swim. Well, it didn’t work, but I gave it my all.”said the Toulouse native, who had not trained specifically for this event this year.

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