“Crazy games,” says Alex Portal when taking stock

After the silver medals (100m butterfly and 400m freestyle) and bronze (100m backstroke), Alex Portal (S13) added the silver medal in the 200m medley, an event won by Belarusian Ihar Boki (who won his 21st Paralympic title; the 5th^e during the Paris 2024 Games).

Alex Portal, as in his previous appearances, was carried by the crowd, gave his all, before bowing to the solidity of the scarecrow Boki. He ends his campaign without the gold he hoped for but with the satisfaction of having shaken the legend of the category. Extract from his relaxed passage in the mixed zone.

The medal collection: “3 silver medals, 1 bronze, it’s crazy. These are crazy Games. I can’t really take it in, even if a little more because the pressure is starting to drop a little. I gave it my all. I almost did my best time (2’06”66; 4”63 behind the Belarusian Ihar Boki, author of the world record in 2’02”03), I did three others in my three other races. I’m not leaving with the medal I came for but 4 medals, that’s double Tokyo (1 silver medal and 1 bronze in 2021). And it’s huge to do 3 silver behind a guy like Boki. I’m happy to have been able to do these races, to have gotten close to his level and to have been able to enjoy the atmosphere.”

The Boki legend: “There is mutual respect. I know what he has given in training to reach this level. It’s nice to swim against guys like that. I am convinced that one day, I will have it. It almost happened in the 100m butterfly, in the 400 too. He has more experience than me, has aquatic qualities that are monstrous in all strokes. In a 200m medley, in 2’2”, he still has the world record. 21 gold medals at the Games, that’s crazy. On the one hand, I am extremely proud to be able to swim with a guy like that who pushes me to give my all. On the other hand, I am a little bit “pissed off” to think that he is still there but it pushes me to give my all every day. I tell myself that one day, it will pass, even if he is ultra strong, he is not untouchable.”

The 400m podium with his brother Kylian: “The best memory? I would have liked to say yes. On the one hand, yes, on the other it was also the weirdest, I told myself I had the ability to do gold and I didn’t do it. Him, his first medal, I was so much happier for him than for me. The emotions I felt that day, it was really very, very weird. On the podium, we really enjoyed it.”

The public: “Huge, I tried to enjoy it again. The first three days went by super fast by doing a lot of things in a row. I tried to open my ears wide, not my eyes because that doesn’t really work. To take in the maximum amount of energy, positivity, happiness. And as usual, people were there, they gave me so much, it made me so happy. The fact that people encourage us as if they’ve known us for years when for most of them that’s not the case at all, it feels good, it makes us feel good, it makes us understand why we train every day to race, to compete, it’s a bit like our life, what makes us happiest in our lives.”

Also readParalympic Games: “I don’t know if I made the crowd proud, but in any case the crowd made me proud,” emphasizes Ugo Didier

Ugo Didier, my roommate who can still get 2 medals: “I wish him well. He has the skills and the ambition. He’s one of my best friends. I’m very proud of him, of what he’s doing. I hope he’ll manage to get the 4 medals. His goal was to get the gold, he did it from the first day so now he just has to enjoy all this and give it his all, free. I know he’ll get there because he’s got a crazy mentality.”