"After three Olympics, I had reached the end of a system": a year after the Olympics, kayaker Manon Hostens changed her way of training
Kayaker Manon Hostens during the Paris Olympic Games, in Vaires-sur-Marne, on August 7, 2024. LECOCQ CEDRIC / KMSP VIA AFP
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She was aiming for a medal but only finished 13th in the final ranking in the 500m tandem: Manon Hostens' third Olympic Games left a bitter taste in her mouth. "It was really hard to be knocked out in the semi-finals ," she recalls today. "After such a disappointment, Vanina [Paoletti, her teammate on the K2, editor's note] and I struggled to refocus and get the places of honor..."
An unwavering optimist, the woman from Périgord, whom we followed throughout her preparation for the Paris Olympics, always prefers to see the glass half full. "Even if the result was disappointing, we did a good job in terms of pure performance," she says. From this "unforgettable" sporting interlude, Manon Hostens prefers to remember the atmosphere of the supporters at the Vaires-sur-Marne nautical base and the impression of...
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