We Noticed: An Inspirational CAF Dad, More French Wins

ABC’s nightly news highlighted an inspirational dad yesterday, telling the story of American David Charbonnet, a Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) ambassador, who will be making a run at the 2028 Paralympics in LA in kayaking. You can see the ABC Nightly News piece here. Here’s another interview Charbonnet and CAF co-founder Bob Babbitt did a month ago with KUSI-TV in San Diego.

Charbonnet enlisted in the Navy after 9/11 and became a member of SEAL Team 1, following in his father’s footsteps. Two days before is first deployment, his parachute canopy stalled and he fell 80 feet – he was paralyzed from the waist down.

“My wife was probably the biggest factor in making sure that I didn’t just spend the rest of my life sitting on a couch,” Charbonnet told ABC. “She’s always pushed me to be adventurous, to dare, to be the man in the arena. I want to be a good role model to my kids. I want to fail so they can see how to get back up. I want to suffer so they can see how to endure. I want to be daring so that they’re daring. Teach my kids to be tough and be adventurous and go out and live their life to the fullest.”

“Being a dad is life’s greatest adventure,” he continued. “If you’ve got kids, pour into them. It’ll be the hardest job you ever did, but it’ll be the best job you ever did. I’m thankful for my kids more than anything I can ever say.”

Charbonnet got into paddling when a friend convinced him to take part in the Yukon 1000, the world’s longest canoe race from Canada to Alaska. From there he got inspired with the goal of qualifying for the Paralympics.

France Wins Again

After Cassandre Beaugrand and Dorian Coninx took the individual titles on Saturday, Team France put themselves at the top of the Olympic mixed relay qualifying standings with a third win at the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) Quiberon race on the weekend.

While Coninx anchored the team to a 24-second win, it was the third French athlete, Emma Lombardi, who pulled clear of the rest of the field to set up the victory. The first leg saw France’s Leonie Periault lead the way to tag Yanis Seguin with a five-second lead over Luxembourg and USA, and then American Seth Rider dominated the second leg to tag off to Gwen Jorgensen with a four-second lead over Lombardi. Lombardi’s big move left Jorgensen to be swallowed up by the chase pack that included Spain, Australia, Italy, Great Britain and Portugal, with Germany lurking close behind.

In the final leg Coninx was untouchable, leaving the excitement to come in the race for the final spots on the podium. In the end it was Italy’s Euan de Nigro who would hold off Spain’s Ethan Edo for the silver and bronze medals, with Australia (Callum McClusky) and Portugal (Vasco Vilaca) rounding out the top five.

Boulanger and Klau Master Mont-Tremblant

Yet another French athlete took the win at IRONMAN 70.3 Mont-Tremblant on the weekend as Aurelia Boulanger dominated on the bike at the race in the heart of Quebec’s Laurentians to take a five-minute win over Americans Lydia Russell and Lisa Becharas.

American Ari Klau used the day’s fastest bike and run splits to take the men’s title over Canadian Blake Harris and countryman Luke Jones.

A pair of Canadian stars had a tough day in Mont-Tremblant. Cody Beals, a two-time winner of IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant who had said this year would be his Mont-Tremblant race, had to pull out after getting a huge hole in his tire.

“Busted my tire but not my spirits,” Beals wrote on Instagram. “Not the farewell I wanted for my last Tremblant, but that’s sport. This place made my career with my first IRONMAN win and many memories over 11 pro races here (and only one flat). The mountain showed me some soaring highs. Merci Tremblant, du fond du coeur.”

Super-runner Tamara Jewett, the 2022 winner, started the day with a great swim just a few minutes behind the leaders, but would eventually pull out on the bike.

Lagownik and Stojanović Win in Gdansk

Poland’s Marta Lagownik had a decisive win on home turf, leading Challenge Gdansk out of the water and never looking back as she took the win over six minutes ahead of Great Britain’s Rebecca Anderbury, with Italy’s Elisabetta Curridori rounding out the podium.

The day’s fastest swim and run splits got Serbia’s Ognjen Stojanović to the line roughly a minute up on Great Britain’s Simon Davis, while France’s Florent Lefebvre rounded out the men’s podium.