Paralympics Paris 2024 | Para cycling track - Marie Patouillet: ‘I can't believe it’

With a Paralympic title in her last race on the track, Marie Patouillet experienced a moment out of time. We take a look back at her performance and this very special podium.

She couldn't believe it: when she saw the result of the 3000 m C5 pursuit final, Marie Patouillet looked as if she couldn't believe it. Hand on helmet, as if shocked, she had just become Paralympic track cycling champion in her last race on the oval.

Long minutes after her victory and the podium where she collapsed, the cyclist still doesn't seem to realise her performance: ‘I don't realise it, firstly because of the post-final collapse and secondly because in my head, Heidi was the favourite. She had put in such an enormous time this morning that I said to myself: ‘Do what you know how to do, no regrets, these are your last laps on the track, they have to be magical’’.

Buoyed by her great determination and the crowd at the Vélodrome National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, she even managed to beat her personal best in qualifying. It was also the words of her partner that helped her to victory: ‘These are your last laps, don't think about the podium, you have to make them magical’.

A dizzying podium

Marie Patouillet was overwhelmed by the emotion, the effort and the heat, and suffered a fainting spell. At first, she thought it was just a temporary tingling sensation. However, she soon realised that the tingling was still there: ‘It didn't last: I had to say it or it would end in me feeling ill’, explains the cyclist, looking back on the episode. She added: ‘I think my determination took me a little too far physically [...] the public took me beyond what I could do: it came down to a little wobble on the podium’.

One last race to make history

For the very last track race of her career, Marie Patouillet couldn't have wished for anything better. According to her, she managed to ‘make everything align’: ‘Everything aligned, and I tell myself that I'm extremely lucky to be able to choose to stop now with these results’.

However, the Paralympic champion will face other challenges on the road this week, with the time trial and the road race in Para cycling, in the C5 category.