French military stars claim first golds at Paris 2024 Olympic Games

PARIS (FRA) - On the third day of medal events at the Paris 2024 Olympics, military athletes from CISM Member Nations showcased remarkable performances across various sports. Frenchman Nicolas Gestin and Manon Apithy-Brunet, representing the Centre National des Sports de la Défense (CNSD), secured the first gold medals for our military athletes.

In the Canoe Slalom Men's Canoe Single event, Nicolas Gestin, an aviator from France, claimed the gold with a stellar performance, finishing with a total time of 91.36 seconds. He outpaced his nearest competitor, Great Britain's Adam Burgess, by a significant margin of 5.48 seconds. Gestin's victory marks a historic achievement, as he brought home the first gold medal for France in this discipline at the Paris Games.

Aviator Nicolas Gestin (picture: Ministère des Sports)

Manon Apithy-Brunet, a maréchal des logis from France, triumphed in the Women's Sabre Individual fencing event. She defeated her compatriot Sara Balzer in a thrilling final match, winning 15-12. Apithy-Brunet's gold medal adds to France's growing tally and underscores the strength of French fencing on the international stage.

In other events, Mathias Flückiger, a private first class from Switzerland, finished fifth in the Men's Cross-country Cycling with a time of 1:27:42, trailing the gold medallist, Thomas Pidcock, by 1:20 seconds.

Maréchal des Logis Manon Apithy-Brunet (picture: Ministère des Sports)

The Judo Men's -73 kg category saw French sailor Joan-Benjamin Gaba secure a silver medal after a hard-fought match against Azerbaijan's Hidayat Heydarov, who won with an ippon in the golden score. Italy's Corporal Manuel Lombardo finished in fifth place.

In the Shooting 10m Air Rifle Women event, Swiss private Audrey Gogniat clinched the bronze medal with a score of 230.3 points. France's Sergent Océanne Muller and Norwegian OR1 Jeanette Hegg Duestad finished fifth and eighth, respectively.

Sailor Joan-Benjamin Gaba (picture: Ministère des Sports)

The Shooting 10m Air Rifle Men saw Italy's Corporal Danilo Dennis Sollazzo take fifth place with 187.4 points, while Argentina's Soldado Voluntario Marcelo Julian Gutierrez finished in eighth with 122.8 points.

In Archery, India's Subedar Dhiraj Bommadevara and his teammate Ankita Bhakat placed fifth in the Mixed Team event.

The Artistic Gymnastics Men's Team event had Ukraine's OF-3 Oleg Verniaiev and military reserve Nazar Chepurnyi finishing in fifth place, demonstrating commendable teamwork and skill.

Private Audrey Gogniat (picture: Schweizer Schiesssportverband SSV)

In the Fencing Men's Foil Individual event, France's Sergent Enzo Lefort, Italy's Corporal Guillaume Bianchi, and France's Maréchal des logis-chef Maxime Pauty finished in sixth, seventh, and eighth places, respectively.

Lastly, in the Swimming Men's 100m Backstroke, French sergent Yohann Ndoye-Brouard secured a seventh-place finish, adding to the notable performances of military athletes from CISM Member Nations on this competitive day at the Olympics.

(Source: CISM Media & Communication Department)