At the Tokyo Olympics, France now has a new gold medal, this time in rowing! This is the eighth medal for France which is once again the fruit of the work of a Grande École alumnus, Matthieu Androdias, a graduate of INSA Toulouse. He won it with his partner Hugo Boucheron. Discover their journey.
Would students and graduates of Grandes Écoles be the best athletes at the Tokyo Olympics? This is the question we can ask ourselves after the great performances of Manon Brunet (fencing), Clarisse Agbegnenou (judo) and Romain Cannone (fencing).
From now on, a new gold medal appears on France’s prize list. We owe it to Matthieu Androdias, who graduated from INSA Toulouse, and Hugo Boucheron. The two friends came first in the men’s rowing double sculls.
The sporting career and prize list of Matthieu Androdias
Matthieu Androdias is originally from La Rochelle where he was born in 1990. Compared to other athletes present at the Tokyo Olympics, the rower discovered a passion for rowing quite late. He became interested in this discipline at the age of 15, which he began to treat back problems.
He quickly began international competitions since he competed in the London Olympics in 2012, only seven years after starting rowing. Unfortunately, he will only reach 7e place. However, he did better at the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing 6e in double sculls, before the consecration at the Tokyo Olympics where he won the gold medal with his partner Hugo Boucheron.
On the international and European scene, Matthieu Androdias stands out with Hugo Boucheron, especially in recent years. Indeed, the first medal they obtained in the world championship was a gold medal in 2018, in Bulgaria. They were also crowned European champions in the double sculls in 2018 and 2021.
The academic and professional career of Matthieu Androdias
Academically, Matthieu Androdias has not sacrificed studies for the benefit of his career in rowing. Quite the contrary! He benefited from the support for high-level athletes offered by theINSA Toulouse to pursue engineering studies. The student joined the school in 2009 and left in 2017. He specialized in mechanical engineering and industrial systems engineering.
During his schooling, he completed a worker internship at Safran Helicopter Engines and another at Altran, in 2016. After his diploma, he joined RATP for an image contract within the system. Athletes. For almost three years, he has been a developer analyst at Atos.
The journey of Hugo Boucheron
For his part, Hugo Boucheron was born in Lyon in 1993. Although he began his sporting career many years ago, it was only very recently that he began international competitions. His first Olympic Games will be in Rio, in 2016, with his partner Matthieu Androdias, in the double sculls. He has the same track record as his partner with whom he notably won the gold medal at the 2018 world championships and the European championships in 2018 and 2021.
