Winter Olympics 2022 - 'This medal is for you' - Johan Clarey dedicates historic medal to late friend David Poisson
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Updated 07/02/2022 at 12:36 GMT
"This medal is for you" - Johan Clarey became the oldest medal winner in Olympic alpine skiing history on Sunday and paid tribute to his friend and colleague David Poisson, who passed away after an accident during training in 2017. "When I crossed the finish line, I immediately thought of David," he said.
Johan Clarey.
Image credit: Imago
Downhill veteran Johan Clarey has dedicated his silver medal to his friend and former colleague David Poisson.
Poisson, a French Alpine ski racer, passed away in 2017 after an accident in training.
And as 41-year-old Clarey became the oldest medal winner in Olympic Alpine skiing history, he paid tribute to Poisson.
"When I crossed the finish line, I immediately thought of David," he said.
"This medal is for you."
Racing in his fourth Olympics, Clarey had never before won a medal.
And legendary Alpine skiers were full of praise for the veteran and his accomplishment.
French former professional skier Valentin Giraud Moine says Clarey inspires others "to dream".
"Johan had an incredible race," he said. "He is having a perfect race. He just needs one small detail to win. But to get an Olympic medal at 41 years old in the downhill... He is a skiing legend who will have marked the history of our sport forever.
"Johan was our father, our big brother. The fact that he is the one to get a medal makes everyone's heart feel good. [...] It's a reward for everyone, it's his medal but we take it as a team medal because Johan is a leader, he's the one who has pulled the group together for many years.
"He is the one who holds the barracks and who, today, makes us dream, he makes us all dream.
German Urs Lehman, gold medallist in the downhill in 1993, labelled the achievement unbelievable, and believes Clarey "could even have won gold".
Norwegian former world slalom champion Tom Stiansen joked that Clarey may have inspired him to come out of retirement after 17 years.
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