Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: Tanguy De la Forest wins silver in para shooting, fifth medal for the French delegation

Tanguy De la Forest a obtenu sa première médaille aux Jeux Paralympiques en six participations. Capture d'écran X – France TV Sport

Frenchman Tanguy De la Forest won the silver medal in R4 para sport shooting on Friday in Châteauroux, thus obtaining the first Paralympic medal of his career at the age of 46.

After several places of honour in the last editions of the Paralympic Games, the Breton finally won a medal in this 10m SH2 rifle shooting event intended for people in wheelchairs.

Athletes in this category cannot carry the rifle without assistance. They benefit from a support system for their rifle, called a gallows.

“I have been working hard for four years”

Suffering from a neuromuscular disease, De la Forest was in the fight for the gold medal for a long time and only lost by two tenths of a second behind Slovenian Francek Tirsek on the Châteauroux shooting range.

After his rival's last, average shot, Tanguy De la Forest let out a “Too bad”, disappointed to have come so close to gold, before smiling again. “Sixth Paralympic Games to get a medal, I'm really happy, I've been working hard for four years”, he explained to France TV, very moved.

The world record holder in the discipline started at the Athens Games in 2004, then had two fourth places and three fifth places in Rio and then Tokyo. By competing in two additional events, the 10m prone shooting on Sunday and the 50m prone shooting on Wednesday, he will try to add a little more to his list of achievements.

With this silver medal, the shooter offers the French delegation a fifth medal since the start of these Games.