She went through “all the emotions”. Crowned triathlon world champion this Saturday, October 19 in Torremolinos (Spain), Cassandre Beaugrand first had a big scare while swimming, going in the wrong direction and finding herself completely alone. After a demonstration on the bike and in running, she crossed the finish line in the lead but ultimately had to wait for many minutes for her title to become real.
A time “suspended” following a “complaint for external assistance” made by the British staff, the result was finally frozen and it was the Olympic champion who won on this stage as well as in the general classification .
How are you after all these emotions?
CASSANDRE BEAUGRAND. My moment was taken away a bit. I’m a little disappointed because I’ve been waiting for this since last year when I missed out on the title and then I completed a complete race. I gave it my all until the end because I was out swimming quite a bit, but I didn’t worry and tried to swim my way back. So, it was hard at the end when someone came to tell me that they had appealed. I went through all the emotions. That’s not what sport is for me. She knew it in fact, she came to see me and told me that it didn’t come from her. Nobody wants to win like that and I think this year I showed that I was above it. Even if they had disqualified me, in my head I would have remained world champion.
How did you experience the wait?
I couldn’t even fathom how they could disqualify me because I knew I wasn’t at fault. I was focused on what I had to do and I had already realized that I was alone in the world so I was just reorienting myself when they arrived next to me. I handicapped myself a lot, already on the first lap.
Did you manage to savor your title in the last lap?
I rarely allow myself to enjoy until I’ve made the last U-turn before the finish line, there can always be a little lapse, a cramp or whatever. I gritted my teeth until just this U-turn and then I allowed myself to enjoy the final straight.
In just over two months, you won the Olympic title and the world title…
Not even in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this. I think I’m going to start to really realize it because after the Games, I went straight back to the competitions and we quickly move on to something else. This morning I said to myself: It’s up to me to go find this title. Next year, there will be another new title and maybe we’ll move on to something else… But I hope it’ll still be me. In any case, I will fight to try to write the most beautiful story in French triathlon.
