Félicia Ballanger

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Félicia Ballanger Road cycling
To person
Full name Félicia Michele Sylviane Ballanger
Date of birth June 12, 1971
nation FranceFrance France
discipline train
End of career 2000
Most important successes
Olympic games
2000 gold - Sprint, 500-meter time trial
1996 gold - Sprint
Last updated: September 21, 2018

Félicia Michele Sylviane Ballanger (born June 12, 1971 in La Roche-sur-Yon ) is a former French track cyclist . She is a three-time Olympic champion and has been world champion ten times. She was the dominant track sprinter in the 1990s.

Athletic career

Felicia Ballanger was named after Felicia by her mother, who was a big fan of the Italian Tour de France winner Felice Gimondi ; her brother was named Frédéric after the Spanish racing driver Federico Bahamontes . She initially played handball until she started cycling on the cycling track in her hometown. Because she was faster than her male competitors, they refused to continue training with her, so she moved to a club in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire at the age of 15 . Even then, a functionary there predicted in view of her unusual strength of will: "Un jour, elle sera championne du monde." ("One day she will be world champion.")

1988 Ballanger was in the Danish Odense junior world champion in sprint , 1991 and 1992 French sprint champion of the elite. In the same year she started at the Olympic Games in Barcelona and finished fourth in the sprint. She then suffered severe injuries to her thighs and collarbones, which caused her to lose self-confidence for some time and to seek psychological treatment. In 1995 she became the first double world champion in sprint and 500 meter time trial in Bogotá .

At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta Ballanger won the gold medal in the track bike sprint after defeating the title holder, Erika Salumäe from Estonia in the quarterfinals ; In one of the two runs there was a standing attempt for three minutes. At the following Olympic Games in Sydney she won her second and third Olympic gold, again in the track sprint and time trial . A total of five times - 1995 , 1996 , 1997 , 1998 and 1999 - she became double world champion in sprint and time trial, making her the only cyclist to date to have achieved this double victory in five consecutive years (as of 2018). In addition, there were at least 15 titles in French championships. After the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, she resigned from active cycling. In 2004 she competed again at the French championships and finished third in the time trial.

After the sport

From 2001, Félicia Ballanger was Vice President of the French Cycling Federation for some time. She lives in Nouméa , New Caledonia, where she is also politically active. She also worked as a commentator for French television. Ballanger was married to the cyclist Benoît Vétu .

successes

1988
  • World Champion Junior World Champion - Sprint
1991
  • MaillotFra.PNG French champion - sprint
1992
  • MaillotFra.PNG French champion - sprint
1994
1995
  • World Champion World champion - sprint, 500 meter time trial
  • MaillotFra.PNG French champion - sprint, 500 meter time trial
1996
1997
  • World Champion World champion - sprint, 500 meter time trial
  • MaillotFra.PNG French champion - sprint, 500 meter time trial
1998
1999
2000
  • gold Olympic champion - sprint, 500 meter time trial
  • MaillotFra.PNG French champion - sprint, 500 meter time trial

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Olonne-sur-mer: regard sur la Vendée - Felicia Ballanger. In: fresques.ina.fr. Retrieved September 22, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Maxime Trouleau: félicia ballanger fait de la politique de Nouvelle Caledonia. In: linternaute.com. August 1, 2016, accessed on September 22, 2018 (French).
  3. ↑ Félicia Ballanger on actustar.com ( memento of December 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on December 22, 2013


personal data
SURNAME Ballanger, Félicia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ballanger, Félicia Michele Sylviane (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH June 12, 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH La Roche-sur-Yon