The athlete was inconsolable after seeing his Winter Olympic dreams shattered because he was left feeling “terrible” with painful “gas” during the tournament in Italy
French cross-country skier Jules Chappaz was left devastated after a severe bout of gastroenteritis crushed his 2026 Winter Olympic aspirations.
The medal hopeful in the classic sprint was knocked out early following a third-place finish in Tuesday’s opening quarter-final heat. Already battling illness before reaching Italy for the games, which has been a hub of drama so far, the Frenchman’s condition – which brought stomach troubles and left him feeling “terrible” – meant he couldn’t deliver when it mattered most in his career.
The stomach bug has apparently been spreading through the French squad in recent weeks, and Chappaz, 26, gave an emotional interview after watching his Milan-Cortina Olympic dreams crumble. “I wasn’t feeling well at all, I had a stomach ache,” he revealed to France 2.
“I felt a bit nauseous and I had gas since the end of qualifying. My body is slowly recovering and it was perhaps a little too soon. Four years of work down the drain because of gastroenteritis.
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“From the start, I felt nauseous. Since the end of qualifying, I haven’t been feeling well. I don’t have many symptoms anymore but as soon as I push myself, I feel terrible.”
Chappaz had harboured hopes of at least making it to the final of the classic sprint. Fighting back tears, he said: “I wanted to believe I could do it, otherwise I wouldn’t have come. I was here to win a medal, but unfortunately, things haven’t gone very well these last two weeks.
“I did what I could with what I had. My body isn’t exactly inclined to give its all right now. These are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, everyone was there for me.”
Chappaz conceded that he was potentially placed in ‘the toughest group’ which featured the event’s overwhelming favourite Johannes Klaebo. Nevertheless, the competitor wasn’t interested in offering excuses, despite the challenging circumstances he faced.
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“You have to be able to beat everyone if you want to win a medal. I was aware of that,” he explained. “It’s the Olympics, I really wanted to run! Qualifying [as the third fastest time] gave me high hopes. Maybe I didn’t have enough energy to get through the rounds. It’s a shame because I wasn’t far off even though I wasn’t feeling great. That’s life.”
The competition proved to be a massacre for numerous French competitors. Lucas Chanavat, Richard Jouve and Theo Schely were also knocked out in the quarter-finals, alongside the two leading French women, Melissa Gal and Julie Pierrel.
“My regret is my form,” Chappaz reflected following his setback. “I believed in myself until the very end and gave it my all, but it wasn’t enough.”