Paris 2024 Olympics: Bitter silver for Lauriane Nolot and the French team at the end of the sailing events in Marseille

La Française a versé quelques larmes après la dernière course. KMSP – CNOSF

La deuxième médaille, en argent, n’était pas celle attendue pour les Bleus à l’image d’un bilan décevant pour la discipline.

Lauriane Nolot brought a second medal to the French sailing team on Thursday. She is silver in kite-foil and comes after the bronze of Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon in 49FX (double-handed dinghy).

The latter, a three-time Olympic medalist, was one of the first to welcome the Olympic vice-champion. They shared their room throughout the competition and the one who is now retired surely reminded her younger sister of the value of a medal in this competition.

Nolot was also entitled to a standing ovation from her supporters who came in large numbers from her club in Hyères but also from the other members of the French team.
This wiped away the tears from her eyes a little and brought back her pretty smile that she also displayed during the medal ceremony.

She didn't come for the money

But it wasn't the money she came for. Logical when at 25, you are European champion, double World champion and you won the Test event last year, right here in Marseille.

The native of Camps-la-Source in the Var did not hide her frustration after the race. “It's a nice medal, but I didn't come here for that. It's disappointing, but I think I'll end up enjoying it. It's a big disappointment, because I feel like the Marseille wind didn't really want me today."

« The Calm Olympics »

While she only needed to win one round of the final to win gold, she finished second in the first and even third in the second while the Englishwoman Eleanor Aldridge won both. “I made a bet to leave with my 21 (size of the sail, Editor's note) when my rival left with her 15m. And I saw that in the first round, she had more speed upwind than me and that it was going to be complicated. When we wanted to go back to change sails, there was no more wind at the beach, so we had to stay offshore with our big sails", explained Lauriane Nolot for whom it was "the Olympic Games of calm".

Weather conditions that disrupted the French crews during the thirteen days of competition and were unable to adapt to them, with the exception of Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon who took advantage of this light and capricious wind.

Two medals in the end for the French team who wanted to at least equal the record from Beijing in 2008 and 2016 in Rio with three. From this point of view, she failed.

Among the boys, Axel Mazella was eliminated in the semi-final of the kite-foil.

Two victories in the medal race

In 470, Camille Lecointre and Jérémie Mion won the medal race. A performance that allowed them to move up to 6th place in the ranking, nine points from the podium. Same scenario for Lou Berthomieu and Tim Mourniac who won the final with ten crews. The French finished fifth overall, thirteen points behind third place.

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