The French team that won the mixed relay in ski mountaineering brought three medals to Team France. Mission accomplished.
Following the silver (Emily Harrop) and bronze (Thibault Anselmet) in the individual event, the French duo secured gold in the mixed relay ahead of Switzerland (Marianne Fatton and Jon Kistler) and Spain (Oriol Cardona and Ana Alonzo) on Saturday in Bormio. The French strategy was simple: to start ahead, quickly, and give it their all.
Coach Leo Viret summarized: “The goal was to take the lead directly, to run in control, but putting pressure on the opponents to force them to go all out and maybe make some mistakes. It’s exactly what they did. Emilie followed the plan. She also wanted to regain that feeling of surpassing herself. I think she succeeded. She finished completely exhausted, but all the technical work she did beforehand allowed her to make the right move when needed.”
Thibault Anselmet, who took the last relay with a slim lead, shared his thoughts: “I was sure of myself. There was no doubt. I was never worried. Marianne (Fatton, Switzerland) managed to come back a bit at the end, but it was okay. We had a great race. We are Olympic champions.”
The French teams quickly set up the podium under the rain in Bormio, as the French athletes could recount a golden day.
Emily Harrop expressed, “We knew we could do it. It required courage, control. This medal is for the team. It represents everything that French ski mountaineering has been working on for years. It’s nothing but happiness, and we hope it will help our sport grow and our Olympic adventure continue.”
Leo Viret added, “I think the mission is accomplished, especially when I see the popular fervor in these races. It’s beautiful. The relay format is enjoyed and will continue to be. Today (Saturday) gives us hope for the future of ski mountaineering. Let us show you the other side. You’ll see, it will be superb. We want the entirety of ski mountaineering to be represented: from sprint to long races, like the individual. On the relay, the total effort time for men over both laps isn’t even ten minutes. And in an individual race, it would be at least fifty minutes, an hour, an hour and ten. I think it would be great for the sport to showcase this versatility of the athletes at least once, so people can see the added value of our sport.”
