The Nice Côte d’Azur Athletics marked the French cadets and juniors championships with its footprint by winning a haul of eight medals, including five titles and a championship record for the junior girls’ relay.
A true star of the competition, Sacha Alessandrini achieved a fantastic hat trick in the 100 m, 100 m hurdles, and 4×100 m relay. Margot Chevrier defeated the favorite to win in the pole vault, while Lenny Brisseault won as expected in the javelin.
Less than a week after her two fourth-place finishes at the Junior World Championships in the 100 m hurdles and 4×100 m in Grossetto (Italy), Sacha Alessandrini filled up on podiums by clinching three titles at the French cadets and juniors championships in Évry-Bondoufle (Essonne) this weekend.
The junior from Nice Côte d’Azur Athletics won a gold medal every day, starting with a victory in the 100 m with a time of 11″71 (+0.9 m/s), three hundredths off her record. The next day, she claimed another win in the 100 m hurdles in 13″44 (+1.2 m/s), with a decent margin over Mathilde Coquillaud Salomon (2nd in 13″57) and Cyrena Samba-Mayela (3rd in 13″59).
Finally, under the guidance of Franck Né at the regional pole in Marseille, she concluded these championships in the best way possible, securing the 4×100 m relay for NCAA far ahead of her rivals. With a time of 45″98, Mandana Vouillemin, Emma Montoya, Camille Seri, and Sacha Alessandrini not only seized the national crown but also broke the championship record, which dated back to 1996!
Nice Côte d’Azur Athletics collected two other gold medals: that of cadet Lenny Brisseault was quite expected given his favorite status. Being only a first-year cadet, the ninth in the last European championships of his category dominated the javelin final by more than six meters with a throw of 66.80 m on his second attempt. He remains slightly behind his record, set at 68.99 m in the continental meeting qualifications.
The other title won by the Nice athletes was less expected: it was credited to junior Margot Chevrier, victorious in the pole vault with a cleared bar at 3.95 m. A few weeks after learning of her admission into the second year of medical school, the Niçoise brilliantly managed her competition to win with the same performance as Clermont’s Charlotte Iva, whom she surpassed in attempts. She especially benefited from the failure of the bronze medalist from the last Junior Worlds and French category record holder with 4.42 m, Alice Moindrot, who couldn’t clear her first bar at 4.10 m.
Three other medals completed the Niçois harvest at Évry-Bondoufle’s Robert Bobin stadium: junior Emma Montoya earned a nice silver medal in the 400 m (55″60), rounding off an excellent season for the student in the United States.
Shortly after, Yvan Lopes Ribeiro found his best level by becoming the French junior long jump vice-champion. Following a second jump of 7.30 m (+1.1 m/s), a new personal record and a provisional lead in the contest, he increased his lead with a leap of 7.37 m (+2.8 m/s) on his fourth attempt before Enzo Hodebar landed at 7.48 m on the fifth try.
Camille Seri, on the other hand, claimed the bronze medal in the 400 m hurdles by clocking her best time of the season (60″38). A superb comeback to prominence for last year’s school world champion in the 300 m hurdles.
Among other notable Nice results, note the honorable placements of cadet Mandana Vouillemin in the 100 m (8th in 12″19; 11″92 in the heats), Malorie Beunard (12th in 7’36″48) and Myriam Daleo (19th in 7’52″02) in the 2,000 m steeplechase cadets, Aurélien Poyac in the 5,000 m walk cadets (10th in 26’08″03), and Shannon Rinaudo in the pole vault cadets (11th with 4.10 m; 4.20 m in qualifications).
