Manon Apithy will forever remember the Paris Olympics. She won the saber gold medal and celebrated her victory with Boladé Apithy, her husband, also an athlete. But at the time, he caused controversy, accused of having “stolen his moment”…
This moment will be forever etched in his memory. Manon Apithy, who you will find in the show A Sunday in the countryside this January 5 with Frédéric Lopez, realized his ultimate dream by winning the saber gold medal at home, for the Paris Olympic Games last summer. A few seconds after her victory, her husband, also an athlete and who won the team saber bronze medal a few days later, emerged from the crowd to take her in his arms, overcome by emotion. But this moment of affection was frowned upon by some. The athlete reacted to the controversy with the Figaro…
Manon Apithy: why her husband was accused of having “stolen her moment” at the Olympics
At the time, Boladé Apithy instantly received a barrage of messages criticizing his attitude and accusing him of having “stole the moment” of his partner, with whom he has been in a relationship for around ten years, by bursting in at the moment of his victory to take her in his arms.
“When I received the messages from these feminists, I wondered if I had done something wrong. Because it can happen. There were harsh, questioning words. I didn’t experience it like that, but what if, yes, I had stolen his moment? So, I talked to Manon about it“, he recalled.
Boladé Apithy reacts to the controversy: “I had forgotten that…”
The 28-year-old sportswoman didn’t see things that way. The athlete was also overcome by emotion and delighted to have received the support of the man who has been her husband since 2021, during this powerful moment. “I would have blamed him, and he would have blamed himself, if he hadn’t come (…) I dreamed of him coming to the track and jumping into my arms. I was hoping to win to experience that. We’ve been doing everything together for so many years. He helps me so much that, for me, it was obvious to share that with the man I love. I’m a bit of a romantic“, she assured.
In addition, Boladé Apithy, 39, assured: this gesture of affection could not have been more spontaneous: “I had forgotten that we were at the Grand Palais, that the TV was filming us. We laughed together, alone in the world“.
From this moment, the lovebirds prefer to remember the positive: “There are so many more people who tell us it was beautiful, who thank us. ‘You spread your love and happiness, it did us good.’ Many tell us they cried. So, if we were able to share what we are experiencing, it’s just good“, rejoiced Manon Apithy, who dreams of becoming a mother before the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
