Great performances for Team ENGIE members!

May has rolled around, so let’s go back on Team ENGIE’s results in April!

SURF - Pauline Ado qualifies for the Challenger Series

A remarkable performance by Pauline Ado at the Caparica Surf Fest (QS 1,000) in Portugal. The Team ENGIE surfer secured 5th place in the regional rankings, qualifying her for the Challenger Series*.

Pauline is currently focusing on the two first stages of the Challengers Series in Australia, starting 7 May in Coolangatta, and then in Manly from 17 to 24 May.
Best of luck to Pauline!!

_{Credit: ©RiBlanc}

^{For info:
*The World Surf League’s Challenger Series (CS) tour is the second of three competitive tiers for the world's best surfers. It includes eight competition for men and women. 96 men and 64 women, from the seven WSL regions via the Qualifying Series, will participate in the Challenger Series. The best five results out of the eight stages will be used to determine general ranking. At the end of the CS season, the Top 10 men and Top 5 women will qualify for the 2023 CT. (CT: Championship Tour)}

FRENCH OLYMPIC WEEK – Stellar performances by Axel and Poema in kite foil, and Pierre in iQFoil

The French Olympic week, a landmark sailing competition that is central to the Olympic tour, took place in Hyères, France, from 23 to 30 April.

The following series were selected for the Paris Olympics: iQFoil (foil windsurf), Kite foil (foil kiteboard) ILCA (single-handed racing dinghy), 49er (two-handed racing dinghy), Nacra 17 (foil catamaran) and 470 (dinghy), competed in Hyères in all types of weather, with very strong winds at the start of the week due to the Mistral, eventually calming down by the end of the week. As new sports in the 2024 Paris Olympics, iQFOiL and kite foil were included for the first time this year in the Olympic Week, a challenging first for Axel, Poema and Pierre who faced heavy competition from more than 50 countries. After all, the highest-level Olympic sailing athletes were included among the 650 racers.

_{Credit: ©Eric Bellande}

In kite foil, Axel Mazella, world runner-up and member of Team ENGIE, won a silver medal, finishing just behind the remarkable Maximilian Maeder from Singapore.

“I am very happy and I knew that Maximilian was coming in strong after all the practice he put in this winter. I will have to work hard to win, particularly on my light wind speed.” Axel Mazella, Team ENGIE kitesurfer.

In the women’s category, Poema Newland, European champion and member of Team ENGIE, ranks just short of a podium position, finishing 4th behind Ellie Aldridge from England. As for her fellow countrywoman, Laurianne Nolot secured second place behind Daniela Moroz from the United States.

_{Credit: ©Eric Bellande}

_{Credit: ©RiBlanc}

In iQFoil, Pierre Le Coq remains in the Top 10, well-placed in 7th. “The conditions were optimal for all of this week’s 16 rounds, except for on the day of the finals due to the lack of wind. The competition was great and the races were both interesting and challenging, perfect to prepare for the European Championships that starts in two weeks” Pierre Le Coq, silver-medallist at the Rio Olympics and member of Team ENGIE.

Join us on 17 May to support Pierre during the European Championships on Lake Garda in Italy.

JUDO - bronze medal for Madeleine Malonga at the European Judo Championships

Runner-up in the Olympics, Madeleine has secured a bronze medal in the -78 kg division at the European Judo Championships held in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Less than one year after the Tokyo Olympics, and two years before Paris, the Team ENGIE judoka had hoped for better results in this championship. She did not have to compete in the repêchage final as her opponent, Patricia Sampaio (Portugal) forfeited due to an injury. After the victory at Golden Score, Madeleine lost in the quarter finals to Italy’s Alice Bellandi, ranked 29th in the world, before winning in the repêchage round against Natalie Powell from England. Despite her loss, she nonetheless receives her 4th European medal, following the bronze medal in the team event in 2016 and the gold medal in 2018 and 2020.

At the end of these championships, France was the highest-ranked European nation with eight medals, 7 of which were won by the women’s teams: three golds, two silvers and three bronzes.

JUDO - Luka Mkheidze will not compete for several months

The 2021 European runner-up and Tokyo Olympics bronze-medallist was out of the running for the 2022 European Championships.

A few weeks ago, the Team ENGIE judoka tore the cruciate ligament on his right knee during a training session in Mongolia with the French team, forcing him to urgently return home. Since then, Luka has undergone surgery and is being monitored by a physiotherapist in order to recover. He is slowly starting to pick up training and should be competing once again in several months. The judoka approaches this injury with peace of mind.

“It is of course very difficult for me to be away from the mat for so long, but it is something I must accept and simply move forwards. I tell myself that worse things can happen and that in the end it’s just a sport. ”