Thursday February 17 – Day 13
The French of the day
We would very much like to be wrong, but the day could be long for the French clan. We will be thrilled with Kevin Rolland, the flag bearer of the tricolor delegation, who will take part in the half-pipe qualifications, but we will have to wait a bit to see him with a medal. In skicross, we will have two French women, Alizée Baron and Jade Grillet-Aubert, with a good hope of a medal for the latter who has twice been on the podium during the last two stages of the World Cup before the Olympics. Romane Miradoli and Laura Gauché will take part in the combined (downhill + giant). We will also have an eye on the Nordic combined (ski jumping + cross-country skiing) with the French relay composed of Baud, Mulhethaler, Blondeau and Gerard.
The star of the day
We would have liked to talk about her only for her sports performance, but her positive control for a banned substance known in the middle of the Beijing Olympics tipped the trajectory of Kamila Valieva into another dimension. The young Russian skater (15) was nevertheless authorized by the CAS to compete. And, despite the pressure, Valieva finished in first place in the short program on Tuesday. She will play the free program on Thursday, with a second gold medal at the end, for the one who had already won the team title at the start of the fortnight. Rain of quadruples in anticipation.
The paper not to miss
On this day which may not be very funky for the French clan in terms of medals, what better than to remember Clément Noël’s title during the slalom on Wednesday morning. Our special correspondent, who almost lost his toes from the cold in the affair, found Noël after his title, and the skier had only one desire: to go to the toilet.
Clément Noël, a “bubbling who hides his game well” gold medalist via @20minutesSport https://t.co/GWDbl8pIXn
— 20 Minutes Sport (@20minutesSport) February 16, 2022