A straight flush of 3 triathlon medals!

Jules Ribstein, supported by Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe, Thibaut Rigaudeau, supported by the Banque Populaire Foundation and Banque Populaire Rives de Paris, and Antoine Perel, supported by Caisse d’Epargne Hauts de France, won gold, silver and bronze medals respectively in the magnificent Paris 2024 para triathlon event.

The right kind of stress

It was a combination of joy and fighting spirit! It must be admitted that it had been a long wait for Jules Ribstein. The 37-year-old paralympic triathlete from Strasbourg, supported by the Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe, was prevented in 2021 from showing his total mastery of this discipline in Tokyo for the simple reason that his category wasn’t included in the program of events. So he took his time and added further exploits to his long list of achievements until the four-time PTS2 para triathlon world champion could finally make his dream come true. Nothing had been easy for him, a fact that goes some way to explaining that incredible expression of relief when he crossed the finish line. The first thing he had to do was to tame his gut-wrenching anxiety. His months-long preparation for the paralympic event included fending off the stress that was constantly tormenting him. The coaching staff showed considerable acumen by adapting to this situation and only allowing him to join the French team at the very last minute, to avoid bringing the tension of the paralympic event on top of the pressure he was already under. Once that step had been taken, sheer hard work and talent did the rest.

Jules Ribstein has been competing in triathlons since he was a teenager. A motorcycle accident at the age of 22 and the amputation of his left leg forced him to switch from able-bodied to paralympic competitions at the end of a very long reconstruction process. Since then, he has won everything at European and international level; the only thing missing was Olympic gold. This was achieved at the end of a race that he controlled perfectly from start to finish, despite a minor problem with his prosthesis which forced him to pause for a few moments. But on the majestic para triathlon course of Paris 2024 nothing and nobody could prevent Jules Ribstein from keeping his rendezvous with destiny!

Two plus two…

Similar achievements marked the races run by Thibaut Rigaudeau, who was supported by the Banque Populaire Foundation and then by Banque Populaire Rives de Paris, and by Antoine Perel, supported by the Caisse d’Epargne Hauts de France, competing in the PTVI category.

Antoine Perel and his guide Yohan Le Berre got off to a particularly good start in this paralympic triathlon, taking the lead in the transition runs after the swimming part of the race and again in the transition between the cycling segment and the running part of the race. Thibaut Rigaudeau, for his part, got off to a slower start with his guide Cyril Viennot but gradually worked his way up, first in the cycling segment and then in the running race, which he started in 4^th place – the position he held in 2021 at the end of the race in Tokyo, and one that he was determined to improve on. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at the age of 8, he started off with blind soccer before switching to para triathlon. This is how, on Monday 2 September, Thibaut and his guide Cyril Viennot brought the race to a perfect finish, cheered on by the public, to pick up a magnificent silver medal. A medal that he will share with Héloïse Courvoisier, a para triathlete supported by the Banque Populaire Foundation and BRED Banque Populaire, who suffers from eye cancer and who is also Thibaut’s partner in their private lives. Héloïse came in 7^th in this para triathlon, accompanied by her guide Anne Henriet, herself the wife of Thibaut’s guide Cyril Viennot. These results will give the four friends something special to celebrate!

Antoine Perel is already an accomplished para athlete. He finished 8^th in the long jump in Beijing in 2008. But when he wasn’t selected in para athletics for Rio in 2016, he switched to para triathlon, and it turned out to be a judicious move. In Tokyo, he came in 6^th place in the visually impaired category suffering, as he does, from congenital cone dystrophy, a genetic disease that first manifested itself in Antoine at the age of 9. Although this para athlete from northern France lost some ground in the running segment of the competition, he nevertheless kept his place on the podium to claim a fine bronze medal.

The race had been postponed by a day owing to bad weather but Julien, Antoine, Thibaut, Héloïse and their guides were able to adapt to the situation and go out and win the prize of immense joy on the Pont des Invalides, a bridge they will never cross again as they did before!

To learn more about which para athletes, athletes, and teams supported by Groupe BPCE companies are present at Paris 2024: