Matthieu Androdias and Hugo Boucheron are irresistible. Olympic champions last year in Tokyo, the two Frenchmen won gold this Sunday in double sculls at the World Rowing Championships in Racice (Czech Republic), four years after their first title.
They did it ! Hugo Boucheron and Matthieu Androdias won another world title in double sculls on Sunday at Racece. The second after 2018 and above all a new planetary title a year after his Tokyo Olympic title. The two Lyonnais dominated the final from start to finish, taking off from the start to count 1.76 ahead of Australians Bartholot and Antill at the halfway mark and 1.96 alike at the start of the last 500.
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A considerable advantage that allowed them to resist the powerful comeback at the end of the Spaniards García Pujolar and Conde Romero, seconds 1”18 behind the exhausted French. In obvious poor form, brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic finished fourth behind the Australians.
Hugo Boucheron
“Bottoms out. Coming back, crossing the line first at the World Championships, I couldn’t believe it. I hardly believe it now.”
“I was very focused on Matt, on what he was doing, Boucheron explains when asked to describe the race, because it had a little less juice than in the middle. I’ve been pretty stressed for the last four days so I’m out of juice. I was ultra-focused on Matt and felt like we were good compared to the Spanish. I was also starting to see the Sinkos, the Aussies… I felt like we were on the right track. I tried rowing economy because physically it was a bit tough. With four months of training, it is difficult. We revived a little after this year that was very hard for both of us. Bottoms out. Coming back, crossing the line first at the World Championships, I couldn’t believe it. I can hardly believe it now…”
“We will quickly have to savor and then forget this gold medal to get back to work. I don’t want it to weigh too heavily on our confidence.”
“I really find it hard to believe, continues Androdias still marked by his effort. It is a nice rematch of the season, but it is still, I will not hide it from you, a great surprise to have reached this level of performance again in a very short time, without doubles competition. That was the physiognomy of the competition, with a rise in power in each route because we were breaking in, adjusting. Getting to this race that we won as we wanted, with a lot of cohesion in the boat, perhaps also with a little less freshness than in the semifinals. They were two difficult days to manage mentally, but we made sure. What feels good is winning a major race without having a perfect race. That is very, very valuable. »
“It’s a great launching pad for the upcoming season.he added. We’ll have to quickly savor and then forget this gold medal to get back to work. I don’t want it weighing too heavily on our confidence. You have to validate work paths, but it’s just one stage, and I don’t want it to be the only one in the Olympiad. You have to forget it somehow, learn from it and move on. »
“We are going to enjoy it for two months”Boucheron whispers. ” One month ! “correct his elder.
With this title, Alexis Besançon’s protégés join the list of winners of French rowing Jean-Christophe Rolland, Michel Andrieux, Adrien Hardy and Jérémie Azou, the only ones before them to have won an Olympic title and two world titles.
Benoit silver medalist in para rowing
In para rowing, France won a fourth medal thanks to Nathalie Benoit. The Paralympic bronze medalist was second in the PR1 single scull 5”52 behind Norway’s Birgit Skarstein. “For me, the first two places remained inaccessible, I was lucid, without being, the French had to declare. It will continue to be my best race. I came here not really knowing what I was worth, it’s a nice surprise on arrival. »
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