A grand celebration announced for French triathlon on the occasion of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games began on Monday morning with the coronation of Jules Ribstein, who, less publicised than headliner Alexis Hanquinquant, flew over the PTS2 category (severe physical disability), of which he was presented as one of the main favourites. Under the gaze of his wife and two children, the Strasbourg resident crossed the finish line 1 minute and 31 seconds ahead of the American Mohamed Lahna.
In the mixed zone, Rio 2016 Paralympic champion, Britain’s Andrew Lewis, jumped over the barrier to hug him. “He is my friend. He is my Englishman, he taught me everything”The Frenchman, who was unable to take part in the 2021 Tokyo Games because his disability category was not included in the programme at the time, reacted. “You were amazing”Andrew Lewis replied.
Despite his status – he is a four-time world champion (2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023) – Jules Ribstein, 37, was uncertain early in the morning as he prepared for the race of his life. “I wasn’t too confident, he declared into the microphone of France Télévisions. I wasn’t sure about myself because I’m a very stressed and hyper-emotional person.
“Sometimes he is a boy who has a certain level of competitive anxietyconfirms the national technical director of the discipline, Benjamin Maze. He worked on it, because it was one of the areas of improvement since the last world title. » However, this did not stop him from spending a week taking sleeping pills. “Stilnox, a piece of junk that makes your legs feel like cotton.”
“It took me ten seconds to put the prosthesis back on”
The relay was on par with a triathlon, which unfolded exactly as Jules Ribstein had planned: a swim that he completed 30 seconds behind the American leader Mark Barr, a quick first transition and a bike ride, without prostheses, that he started at the front and at full speed (second best time), constantly increasing the gap on his direct pursuers, before managing the 5,000-metre run in third best time.
This gentle plan was simply embellished with a slight fright, masterfully controlled, due to the poorly adjusted fit of his prosthesis: “It’s classic when you have a femoral deviceexplains this former prosthetist who worked for four and a half years. I put the prosthesis in internal rotation, after 600 meters I saw that I couldn’t do 5,000 meters like that. It took me ten seconds to put it back in. We’re already running sideways…”
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