Victor Lovera and Théo Schely, elite student-athletes at theUniversité Grenoble Alpes, won a spectacular Olympic silver medal in the men’s cross-country skiing relay alongside their teammates Hugo Lapalus and Mathis Desloges. This marks a historic medal for French cross-country skiing.
Victor Lovera, a second-year engineering student
e A student at Grenoble INP - Ensimag, UGA, and Théo Schely, a third-year student in the hybrid STAPS-SHIFT program (UFR STAPS - H3S Faculty), are among the 51 UGA students and recent graduates selected for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Learn more.
On February 15, on the trails at the Lago di Tesero Stadium in the heart of the Val di Fiemme valley, the two cross-country skiers from theUniversité Grenoble Alpes , along with their teammates Hugo Lapalus and Mathis Desloges, won the silver medal in the men’s relay (4x7.5 km) at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games. The French relay team finished in 2nd place
e third place on the podium, right behind Norway and ahead of Italy. Congratulations to the French team and the UGA champions!
A historic medal for the French team
This silver medal will go down in the history of French cross-country skiing, as it is the third medal won by the cross-country skiers at these Olympic Games. This is a record for France, which had never won more than two medals at a single Olympic Games. "
Carrying the French flag during the final meters is a very emotional experience", said Victor Lovera, the final leg runner for the French cross-country team, whose dual project is supported by the Grenoble INP–UGA Foundation and the UGA Foundation.
Read the race recap on the
France TV website.
Victor Lovera and Théo Schely © Agence Zoom
With this silver medal, the two UGA students are following in the footsteps of their senior, Maurice Manificat, a French cross-country skiing legend who earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from UGA in 2011 and serves on the board of the UGA Foundation. A four-time Olympic medalist, Maurice Manificat has passed the torch to the younger generation of French cross-country skiers after winning three consecutive Olympic bronze medals in the men’s relay in 2014, 2018, and 2022!
"
I'm happy to be part of this team for the first time. It's a legacy that Maurice has left us. This medal is for the entire French cross-country skiing community—it's not just the four of us. This marks the fourth consecutive time that the French relay team has won a medal at the Winter Olympics (following three bronze medals, ed.), and it feels especially special to be a part of it. ", Théo Schelly said happily on the
website of the French Olympic and Paralympic Team.
Inter’Val: A Program for the Elite of Winter Sports
To balance their studies with competing at the highest international level, Victor Lovera and Théo Schely—like all UGA students participating in the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics—benefit from the
Inter’Val system. Established in 2004 to address the significant challenges faced by winter sports athletes, this specialized support program is reserved for athletes competing in the most prestigious international competitions.
Offered in all fields of study, Inter’Val is based on a partnership—unique in France—between the UGA and the National Sports Agency (
ANS) and 5 federations: the French Ski Federation (
FFS), the French Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (
FFME), the French Ice Sports Federation (
FFSG), the French Ice Hockey Federation (
FFHG) and the French Federation of Sports for People with Disabilities (
FFH).
This year, of the 770 high-level student-athletes supported by the UGA in their dual academic and athletic pursuits, 115 are benefiting from the Inter’Val support program. The success of this leading support program is also reflected in the 11 UGA graduates who are continuing their athletic careers at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics while having secured their professional futures.
