France’s Cassandre Beaugrand throws up, then turns up to take triathlon gold

PARIS – France’s Cassandre Beaugrand gave some insight into the suffocating pressure that comes with being a home favourite at the Olympics when, racked by nerves, she threw up at the start of the women’s triathlon on July 31.

Less than two hours later, however, she reaped the benefits in spectacular style, surfing the wave of popular support rolling off the streets of Paris to surge clear on the run and win the country’s first gold in the sport.

The 27-year-old had been in a breakaway pack of four on the 10km run leg, alongside compatriot Emma Lombardi, British world champion Beth Potter and Switzerland’s Julie Derron.

She looked comfortable and relaxed as she strode through the finish zone on the first three laps and then made her move on the final lap to come home well clear.

The Frenchwoman grabbed the finish tape, kissed it and collapsed to the ground. Derron chased her home for silver with Potter taking bronze, leaving Lombardi in the worst position of all.

“I can’t find the words, it’s crazy what’s happening to me. This morning, I would never have believed it,” Beaugrand said.

“This morning, I was in total panic. I vomited before the start... It was nerves. It’s never happened to me before, and in front of the other athletes. Everyone knew I was stressed.

“I didn’t want to do the same as Tokyo where I was so nervous and where I lost all my faculties.”

Beaugrand failed to finish at the last Olympics, suffering a puncture on the bike leg, and had the added stress on July 31 of finding out only at 4am that the race would go ahead after the men’s event was postponed the previous day due to poor water quality.

“I told myself ‘Cass, you can’t go through the same thing as Tokyo again, concentrate, you’ve been doing triathlon your whole life, it’s just another race’,” she added.

“Mentality has been my weakness so many times and today it was my strength. After Tokyo, it was not an easy path but I never stopped believing. To do it in front of our crowd was something that had to be done, and I still can’t believe it. It was the dream of my life and I fulfilled it.” 

Both the women and men’s triathlon went ahead after days of suspense over whether the Seine would be clean enough for athletes.

That the race took place at all was a triumph and relief for organisers, who have been sweating on the state of the famed river since last week when the French capital was deluged by rain during the opening ceremony.

The storm overwhelmed the city’s sewerage system despite a recent €1.4 billion (S$2 billion) upgrade, leading to discharges of untreated faecal matter that sent E. coli bacteria levels spiking above permitted limits.

Beaugrand also said she “never doubted” that the swimming would go ahead despite warnings that it might be cancelled, which would have turned the race into a duathlon of only cycling and running.

After the triathlon was given the go-ahead, thousands turned up to witness the competition through Paris’ historic streets which were slippery and hazardous after overnight showers.

Many finishers said they had put pollution problems out of their minds as they dived into the Seine from a pontoon in front of the Alexandre III bridge.

The men began shortly after the finish of the women’s race, with the three medallists from Tokyo 2020 – Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt, Britain’s Alex Yee and New Zealander Hayden Wilde – all in contention.

Yee won gold this time, passing Wilde in the final stretch of the 10km run in a dramatic finish, while France’s Leo Bergere settled for bronze.

It looked to be Wilde’s victory but the hard pace and heat sapped his energy and Yee, widely regarded as the fastest runner in the field, flew past with 400 metres to go and finished clear.

“I just have so much respect for Hayden and how much he made me dig for that,” said Yee, as the two athletes sat down together at the finish line and Wilde congratulated him with an arm around his shoulder.

“I thought silver was on the cards. And with about 2km to go, I thought I’d give it everything I had. I rode that wave and I didn’t give up.” REUTERS, AFP