Chabot and Minoret European Champions 2002
Alexandre Chabot and Chloè Minoret win the European Championship 2002 in Chamonix
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| Chamonix Saturday 13 July Incessant rain marked the European Championship held in Chamonix last weekend, won by Alexandre Chabot and, somewhat unexpectedly, Chloé Minoret. At least 5000 drenched but enthusiastic spectators watched the spectacle, that started on Friday with the disconcerting Quarter-Finals that saw 10 male and 30 (!) female athletes top out. The marathon second round (56 athletes in total) began on Saturday to a light drizzle that steadily increased throughout the day. 14 male competitors topped out, including Rakhmetov, Krivocheicev, Pouvreau and Kazbekov, eliminated though from the Final due to their inferior result in the preceding round. The remaining ten, Chabot, Mrazek, C. Bindhammer, Ovtchinnikov, F. Petit, Petrenko, Puigblanque, Legrand, Lachat and Brenna all qualified for a Final in which all athletes were joint-equal. This unprecedented situation was mirrored in the women’s event, as Minoret, Sedlmayer, Schopf, Knorr, Pouget, Sarkany, Levet and Cufar all reached the finishing holds of the Semi-Final! The rain continued but this did not deter the crowd and at 20.30 both the Men’s and Women’s Final got underway as scheduled. First out was Alexandre Chabot, who climbed swiftly up the overhanging wall, over the first roof, past the traverse to the second roof. Hard moves, cut loose and it’s all over! The crowd went wild as Chabot climbed the finishing moves to the top – and who knows what would have happened had he been the last out! But the Final was far from over as all other athletes still had to compete. In the meantime Minoret climbed high on the women’s route, and Puigblanque climbed well, only to be stopped by the traverse. The downpour then began in all earnest and, although not taking anything away from anyone, changed the conditions for the remaining athletes. Petit fell beneath the second roof, Petrenko almost reached Puigblanque’s highpoint while Ovtchinnikov fell slightly lower. Legrand climbed well, demonstrating renowned class until his feet slipped, while Bindhammer struggled lower down. Brenna climbed swiftly to beneath the first roof but made a mistake along the traverse, falling just above Lachat’s highpoint. Last out Tomaz Mrazek, the only athlete left capable of challenging Chabot’s supremacy. He climbed securely to the second roof but then sliped on the high traverse – and suddenly Chabot is European Champion for the second time running! In the Women’s event it soon became clear that Cholè Minoret had made the climb of her life. Neither Sarkany (perhaps penalised due to her height) nor Levet (obviously tired) nor young Pouget managed to equal her performance. Cufar, the last athlete out, climbed high but not quite high enough. And so the European Championships 2002 came to a close, with a deserved French double. Tomà s Mrazek and Ramón Julián Puigblanque placed second and third, as did Martina Cufar, Muriel Sarkany and Sandrine Levet (joint-equal). The Final will be remembered for Chabot’s outstanding climb, for the adverse weather conditions and the spectacle as a whole. "Vive la France" therefore, but with due moderation, as some points remain somewhat perplexing. The route setting in the first two rounds is just one example, mentioned above. And the extremely long falls, stopped short just above the ground. Ask Bindhammer if you need confirmation… Bye for now and see you in Chamonix next year… for the World Championship!
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