Paris 2024: France goes wild for Alexis Hanquinquant’s back-to-back golds

Para triathlon star Alexis Hanquinquant received a rockstar reception from French fans at the Paris 2024 Paralympics and proved he is the ultimate showman.  

The 38-year-old has not lost a race since Tokyo 2020 and continued this red-hot record on home turf Monday.  

Hanquinquant, the French opening ceremony flag bearer and race favourite, didn’t disappoint his legion of supporters, finishing the PTS4 race in 58:01 minutes.   

The time was close to a minute faster than his gold medal Paralympic debut in Tokyo.  

"I'm super happy. This is incredible. It's been a beautiful race. All the ingredients were there to make it work today,” he told reporters.    

He came out of the swim leg with a solid lead over his opponents and kept widening the
gap all race before sailing across the finish line holding a French flag behind his head, grinning from ear to ear. 

“It's really a perfect race," he said.  

The USA’s Carson Clough gallantly tried to catch Hanquinquant but had to settle for silver, while Spain’s Nil Riudavets Victory claimed the bronze.  

Hanquinquant said he went into the Paris event with a completely different mindset compared to Tokyo.  

"The goal today was to perform. I knew I was the favourite, but I just wanted to perform as well as possible. I'm happy it led to gold.” 

“There was a lot of emotions today."  

Later during the medal ceremony, he jumped up and down on the podium and pumped his fists in the air as French fans screamed in jubilation.  

Majestic Paris

After a one-day postponement due to water quality concerns, Paris turned on the charm and glorious weather for the much-anticipated Para triathlon.  

The races started and finished on the 45m wide and 107m long, Pont Alexandre III, a bridge between the Seine’s two banks in central Paris.   

The Eiffel Tower loomed in the distance and a French marching band provided much ambience.  

Conditions were sunny with a light breeze and the water temperature was around 21C.  

The event kicked off with a 750m swim in the Seine before competitors biked and ran near iconic landmarks such as the Grand Palais.    

It was a case of double Para triathlon glory for France with Jules Ribstein taking gold in the PTS2.  

Swimming in the river was a novelty for French triathletes, Ribstein said, describing it as an “unbelievable" experience.  

"I will return to the Seine, just to swim like Anne Hidalgo (the Paris mayor who swam in the Seine)," Ribstein said.  

“This morning, I was so present. I was thinking, 'Here we are, we will be in the Seine in a few minutes'.”  

Household name 

Hanquinquant was a mason by trade and made the decision to have his tibia – leg below the knee – amputated in 2013 after it was crushed by a piece of construction machinery in a workplace accident. 

Before his accident he had won a French national boxing title and played basketball at junior regional level. 

In 2015, he started Para triathlon but was too late to the party to qualify for the Rio 2016 Games. 

He trains about 25 hours a week, swimming 30 kilometres, cycling 400 kilometres and running 50 kilometres. 

Fast forward to 2024 and Hanquinquant has become a household name in France.  

He was one of the last Olympic Games torchbearers at the end of the Opening Ceremony.  

He also lit the cauldron during the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony.  

The father-of-two said it takes a team effort to become a Paralympic champion and paid tribute to the love and support from his entourage.  

"My family is here. It's important to win in front of my family," he said.  

His children missed their first day at school and he joked about writing a note to their teacher: “Dad won a gold medal”.