Celine van Till wins her second silver medal at the Paralympics. Despite a mishap, the Geneva native finishes second in the road race sprint on a tricycle.
The final phase was extremely exciting. Four of the six participants were in the fight for the medals right down to the last few meters, and the tension in Clichy-sous-bois was palpable. Celine van Till and Emma Lund soon had a slight advantage and it was only in the final meters that the pendulum swung in favour of the Dane.
Satisfied with silver
Van Till was nevertheless delighted with her second medal: "I'm very happy with silver." Although the three-time overall World Cup winner had gone into the race as the favorite, she was able to be one. First and foremost because she had a mishap beyond her control, as she said herself: "I ran out of water in the last ten kilometers because the container was broken and all the water had leaked out." This had never happened to her before in her career.
She hadn't wasted much time and energy on fretting about the mishap with the Camelbak. Instead, she tried to keep up with the fast pace of the competition, which she succeeded in doing - also because she had remained calm. "It was better that I didn't give it much thought," she said, "I adapted to the changed situation and was able to react to my opponents' attacks."
Home World Championships stage for revenge
She now leaves Paris with two silver medals and these Paralympics were an experience she will never forget: "My family and other loved ones were there. Knowing that they were cheering me on is wonderful. That really touched me. So far I've been fully focused on the races and in my bubble, but now I'm going to celebrate with them. And then I will concentrate on the World Championships in Zurich."
It sounds like a declaration of intent. And Celine van Till leaves no doubt that she wants to attack again at her home World Championships in Zurich: "I'm looking forward to the rematch."
SDA
