Para-cross-country skiing: bronze for Benjamin Daviet in the classic sprint in Trondheim
On Wednesday lunchtime, Bornandin Benjamin Daviet won yet another world medal in the para cross-country skiing classic sprint in Trondheim (Norway). In this first global event organised at the same time as the able-bodied athletes, the Frenchman won a fine bronze medal.
However, nothing was written in advance, as he arrived in Norway ill. “I had a bit of angina”, he told Nordic Magazine. Ninth in the qualifying round on Tuesday morning, he nevertheless managed to book his ticket for the semi-finals reserved for the top twelve.
“In the semi-final, they tried to salt the track, but it didn’t work. So I decided to go for a classic, which isn’t my strong point, rather than a push. In the bumps, I limited the damage and stayed in contact to be able to push on the parts where I had to do a double push, explains Benjamin Daviet. On the final straight, I was third after the Kazakh [Aleksandr Gerlits] crashed. I’m not getting too excited and I’m saving my energy for the final.”
On this one, because of the gaps (determined by the handicap percentage and the qualification results), Benjamin Daviet was not expecting to play for gold against Japan’s Taiki Kawayoke, the favourite who won the big globe a few days ago.
“Karl [Tabouret], on the other hand, started 14 seconds behind and I told him he could go after him. I concentrated on the German [Sebastian Marburger], he explains. I made a better start than him on the bend leading to the stadium and I came in with more speed and passed him before the stadium bend. I had a great final straight and that enabled me to finish third.”
A podium shared with his “little colt” Karl Tabouret
“I’m really pleased with this medal because I didn’t think I’d be able to do this when I arrived here sick. Above all, I won this medal doing a classic and not a double push. It’s my first medal in a real classic, which is huge”, Benjamin Daviet was delighted to say.
Ahead of him, Karl Tabouret took the gold with Taiki Kawayoka. “I’m really happy to share this podium with him. In 15 years, I’ve never experienced anything like it! It’s just too good and huge for the French clan, explained the para-athlete from Haute-Savoie. What’s more, Karl [Tabouret] is my little colt, and I kind of took him under my wing when he arrived by sharing my experience. It’s great to see that it’s paying off!”
- The full programme for the cross-country skiing, Nordic combined and ski jumping world championships in Trondheim, the highlight of the 2024/2025 season
- Organisers of the Trondheim 2025 World Championships add a classic para-cross-country sprint to their programme
- Para-cross-country skiing: the French selection for the world championships in Trondheim
- “They’re taking a step forward”: what the French team thinks of the scheduling of a disabled sprint classic during the Trondheim Worlds
- Trondheim: Karl Tabouret, third, and Benjamin Daviet, ninth, qualify for the semi-finals of the classic sprint
- Trondheim: Benjamin Daviet and Karl Tabouret in the final of the classic sprint at the Worlds
- Trondheim: Karl Tabouret world champion in the classic sprint, Benjamin Daviet in bronze
