Hélène_Defrance

Hélène Defrance

Hélène Defrance

French sailor

Hélène Defrance (born 11 August 1986) is a French former sailor, who won a bronze medal in the women's 470 event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She also won the 2010 470 European Championships race, and the 2016 470 World Championships. Defrance is a knight of the Ordre national du Mérite.

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Being a qualified nutritionist, she now works for French professional football club Lille OSC, within the High Performance structure.

Career

Defrance was a member of ASPTT Marseille.[2] In 2010, Defrance and Emmanuelle Rol won the 470 European Championships,[3][4] and the 2009–10 ISAF Sailing World Cup stage in Hyères, France.[5] Defrance failed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[6]

In 2013, Defrance teamed up with Camille Lecointre,[3] after Lecointre's Olympic partner Mathilde Géron returned to studying after the Games. The pair won the 2013 French National Championships, and came second at the 2013–14 ISAF Sailing World Cup events in Miami[7] and Palma de Mallorca. Defrance and Lecointre were winning the Mallorca event until the last race, when they were overtaken by New Zealand's Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie.[8] Defrance and Lecointre won a bronze medal at the 2015 470 World Championships,[9] and a silver medal at that year's 470 European Championships.[10][11] The pair won the 2016 470 World Championships event in Argentina.[12] In March 2016, Defrance and Lecointre were selected for the women's 470 event at the 2016 Summer Olympics;[13] it was Defrance's first Olympic Games.[6] At the Games, they finished third, winning the bronze medal.[14][15] They were one point ahead of the fourth-placed team,[2] the Dutch pair of Afrodite Zegers and Anneloes van Veen.[16] In the final race of the competition, they came from the back of the fleet up to sixth place, which secured their bronze medal.[17]

After the Games, she took a break from sailing.[18] In 2017, Defrance sailed GC32 boats; she tried to find a sponsor for the 2018 GC32 sailing season.[18]

Post career

After the 2016 Summer Olympics, Defrance trained to become a qualified dietician in Perpignan, France. She had previously been working on the job part-time alongside her sailing commitments since 2014.[6] In 2018, she was one of 18 French former Olympic and Paralympic athletes chosen to support the Paris bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[19][20] As of 2022, she worked as a nutritionist for Ligue 1 club Lille OSC.[21]

Honours

In November 2016, Defrance was awarded the title of Chevalier (Knight) in the French Ordre national du Mérite, for services to sailing.[22]

References

  1. [1]
    "Hélène Defrance". Espirit Bleu. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  2. [2]
    "Les Françaises Camille Lecointre et Hélène Defrance décrochent le bronze en voile aux Olympiades de Rio". Agence France-Presse (in French). 18 August 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021 – via Huffington Post.
  3. [3]
    "HÉLÈNE DEFRANCE, LA FLAMME D'HÉLÈNE" (in French). Tout Ma. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  4. [4]
    "470 OPEN WOMEN'S EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP: ISTANBUL - TURKEY - 28 AUGUST - 6 SEPTEMBER 2010" (PDF). 470.org. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  5. [5]
    "Emmanuelle Rol & Hélène Defrance championnes d'Europe" (in French). Sea Sail Surf. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  6. [6]
    "Voile : une médaillée des Jeux de Rio entame sa reconversion dans les P.-O". L'Indépendant (in French). 4 November 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  7. [7]
    "Camille Lecointre et Hélène Defrance : "Un premier bilan fin avril !"". Voiles et Voiliers (in French). 21 February 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  8. [8]
    "Yachting: Double gold for New Zealand". The New Zealand Herald. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  9. [9]
    "Hélène Defrance et Camille Lecointre médaillées de bronze aux Mondiaux de 470". L'Équipe (in French). 12 November 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  10. [10]
    "470 European Championship 2015" (PDF). 2015 470 European Championships. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  11. [11]
    "2015 Open 470 European Championship – Podiums decided". Sail World. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  12. [12]
    "Championnats du monde : La France a brillé". L'Équipe (in French). 28 February 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  13. [13]
    "Camille Lecointre et Hélène Defrance ont été sélectionnées pour les Jeux Olympiques de Rio de Janeiro". L'Équipe (in French). 2 March 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  14. [14]
    "Helene Defrance". rio2016.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  15. [15]
    "Helene DEFRANCE". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  16. [16]
    "Dramatic finale for Rio 2016 Olympic sailing competition". Practical Boat Owner. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  17. [17]
    "Brazil claim 49erFX Olympic gold by just two seconds as Rio 2016 sailing action comes to an end". Inside the Games. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  18. [18]
    "Hélène Defrance prend son destin en main". La Provence (in French). 25 September 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  19. [19]
    "Organisation des JO 2024 : 18 sportifs français appelés à la Commission des athlètes menée par Martin Fourcade". France Info (in French). 12 April 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  20. [20]
    "ENTRETIEN AVEC HÉLÈNE DEFRANCE, MEMBRE DE LA COMMISSION DES ATHLÈTES #PARIS2024". French Sailing Federation. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  21. [21]
    Pousset, Maxime (12 January 2022). "Focus sur Hélène Defrance, diététicienne et médaillée olympique". LOSC.fr (in French). Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  22. [22]
    "Décret du 30 novembre 2016 portant promotion et nomination" (in French). Government of France. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
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