The Azuréens Julia Pereira and Adam Siao Him Fa ultimately will not claim any medals. This Friday, the two athletes were engaged in snowboarding cross and skating disciplines and fell short of their goals.
The dream of a solo medal has slipped away for Julia Pereira! The Azuréenne was eliminated in the semi-final of the individual snowboard cross event, this Friday. Yet everything seemed to be going well for the Frenchwoman. In the qualification round, the snowboarder posted the fourth fastest qualifying time with 1’13”32.
Qualified for the eighth-finals, Julia Pereira mastered her series by defeating American Stacy Gaskill by four hundredths of a second. In the quarter-final, the Azuréenne once again dominated her race and advanced to the semi-final. Unfortunately for the Frenchwoman, the step was too high; she finished last in the race, behind Australian Josie Baff, Czech Eva Adamczykova, and American Faye Thelen. Relegated to the small final, the Isolienne finished in 6th place.
Speaking to L’Équipe, the Azuréenne did not hide her disappointment: “I am disappointed, very disappointed, but I faced opponents stronger than me today. I have to bow a little, and it’s very hard. I obviously had other expectations. We dreamed of sharing this podium with Léa (Casta). We ended up in the small final, and it was quite sad. At the start, we were crying tears of disappointment. It’s the harsh reality of sport, but we persevere.” The Olympic Gold was ultimately won by Australian Josie Baff, ahead of Czech Eva Adamczykova and Italian Michela Moioli.
Disappointment after disappointment for the Azuréens
The other Azuréen of these Winter Olympics, Adam Siao Him Fa also failed to shine in his event on Friday evening. Competing in free skating, the Frenchman was among the favorites for a podium finish. Initially, 3rd after the short program, the chances of a medal were promising for Adam Siao Him Fa. In the second part of the competition (free program), hopes for a medal completely crumbled for the Azuréen. The skater suffered three falls during his performance, and the judges gave him a score of 166.72, placing 12th in the free program. Adam Siao Him Fa ultimately finished the competition in 7th place overall.
Speaking to France Télévisions, the athlete expressed all his anger and sadness: “I am extremely disappointed, I had prepared under the best conditions, I had all the tools at my disposal and I wasn’t able to deliver when it mattered. It’s disappointing, I’m quite sad and quite angry too.” It was an evening that risks being a nightmare for the Azuréen who had the chance to make history by being the first to win a silver medal since the 1964 Games.
The Kazakhstani Mikhail Shaidorov was crowned Olympic champion against all odds, thanks to an exceptional free program and errors made by American Ilia Malinin and Adam Siao Him Fa.
