Para nordic skiing: Karl Tabouret expresses his anger
On Friday afternoon, during the press conference for the French Olympic and Paralympic team gathering at the Gaîté Lyrique in Paris, Marie-Amélie Le Fur, President of the CPSF, announced some surprising news about the Milan/Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games.
The French delegation will not be able to attend the opening ceremony scheduled for 6 March in Verona (Italy).
Attending the Opening Ceremony imposes a ten-hour time slot, and only two athletes per nation will be able to take part on site,” explained the head of the French Paralympic movement. We have also decided to allow two volunteers to carry the flag during the ceremony.
“It’s not good what the Italians are doing. They’ve sold the dream”.
This forced decision angered Karl Tabouret, the reigning world champion in the para-cross-country skiing classic sprint.
“I said to myself: ‘I’m going to be the youngest, so maybe I’ll be the flag-bearer’, and now we’re being told that there will only be two or three people representing us. I find that shameful,” he told L’Equipe. It’s the thing I’ve been waiting for, the most beautiful thing about the Games. When I look at Paris 2024, it was incredible, even [for the Paralympics]. The parade was really something! As for the able-bodied, it was truly magnificent. For my first Games, it was really my dream to be able to be in official dress, to walk with everyone, with the flag.”
He continued: “It’s not right what the Italians are doing. They’ve sold the dream. It was supposed to be great, but it’s not any more. These are going to be my first Games, [but] they’re going to be the worst ever. All I want is for these Games to go well so that I can get back on track for the 2030 Games back home. They’re going to be incredible, and I hope I’ll be in top form.
Karl Tabouret can take comfort in the fact that he was in any case ineligible to become flag-bearer for the French delegation, given that he will be taking part in his first Games. He will be competing in the para biathlon in Val di Fiemme (Italy) the morning after the opening ceremony.
