His jump revolves around the world. Cedric Fofana, a water-jumping teenager, is the second youngest participant in the field at just 17 years old when he disappoints him on a 3-meter board.
His attempt at the three-and-a-half somersaults goes poorly: instead of diving without splashing, he brutally settles on his back – the judges punish the teenager with a straight zero, twenty-ninth and last place. This is definitely not how Fofana imagined his Olympic debut.
“Keep in good spirits”
“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” said the young man from Quebec, looking great after flipping. “Mainly because the training sessions have been going very well for about a month. Sure, starting my Olympic dream like this is a bit disappointing, but there will be more matches to come, and I’m still in good spirits.”
distance. His first Olympic experience was painful. Not just on the back. “I was very nervous,” Fofana admits. But I think with time that will disappear in international competitions.
“It’s embarrassing for him… it’s embarrassing for us.”
His talent is undisputed. Canadian diving instructor Mitch Geller explains, “You can’t overlook reality: It was embarrassing for him and embarrassing for us. But it’s not his fault, it’s our fault. He wasn’t well prepared for this competition.”
After a point-jumping jump, Fofana was instantly comforted and hugged by Canadian-born Italian Sarah Godwin Di Maria. Fofana: “She told me to cry if I felt like it. Let it all go out, live in the moment, learn and look ahead.”
A talent that Canada has never seen before.
Coach Geller: “This result does not reflect his talent at all. He is one of the young jumpers with a talent that Canada has never seen before. Which makes this experience at the Olympic Games all the more tragic.” Now it simply has to become more stable and reduce fluctuations in performance, because it “has strength, speed and flexibility”.
Zero Point Drama is a difficult lesson for the young man. But he seems to slip away easily. He wrote on Instagram: “Not really the result I expected. But I guess I can still say I’m an Olympian – or whatever. lol.”
After all, he’s not the only Olympic athlete to bring zero back to Canada from Tokyo. His compatriot Pamela Weir, 28, had already received the same note as she cut her jump for fear of injury. (WST)
The brutal failure in the Olympics: There is a straight zero for this jump(00:24)
Summer Olympics in Tokyo
The 32nd Summer Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. All information about the opening, broadcasts, competition dates, majors, innovations, venues and amulets can be found in a large overview.
The 32nd Summer Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. All information about the opening, broadcasts, competition dates, majors, innovations, venues and amulets can be found in a large overview.
All about the Olympics
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