This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Kearns • Vincent Jeanne reached into his pocket for his golden Eiffel Tower key chain, a good luck charm a friend had given him.
The French speedskater brought it with him from France to the Utah Olympic Oval, where he and his teammates competed Friday night in the Apolo Ohno Invitational.
But Jeanne was having a hard time staying focused. A series of terrorist attacks at popular Parisian nightspots killed as many as 120 people in the deadliest violence that the City of Light has seen since World War II.
After hearing the news stateside, Jeanne's thoughts were with his friends in Paris, one of whom was at the soccer game at Stade de France — where the crowds could hear a nearby explosion. Jeanne still hadn't heard from him shortly before Friday's competition began.
"It's night, so maybe he's asleep, I hope," Jeanne said. Though he was an ocean — and the better part of a continent — from home, Jeanne planned to skate for his country and show that "the French [are] strong."
His teammate Sebastien Lepape was waiting to hear from friends in Paris, too, after seeing the news on Facebook. He was also wondering whether he and his team would be able to return to France on Sunday, as they had planned, in light of the country's president shutting down the borders in the wake of the attacks.
"If it's the same, maybe we can't go back to France," he said. Like Jeanne, Lepape looked forward to Saturday morning, when they hoped to know more and hear from any friends they hadn't heard from yet.
"I hope I don't have bad news tomorrow," Lepape said.
Coach Ludovic Mathieu and his squad added touches of mourning to their apparel for Friday's races.
"We wore black while skating," he said, motioning to the dark patch on his sleeve. "We think it's a terrible thing." The team wore black helmet covers.
Though he lives in southern France, he has relatives in Paris who were safe, he learned Friday night.
The competition held a moment of silence to mark the tragedy.
Meanwhile, Sofiane Auvray, who moved to Salt Lake City from Paris three months ago, shared the team's hope Friday night. Until a few months ago, she lived in the same Parisian neighborhood where the attacks took place.
Trying to make sure that everyone was all right, Auvray reached one of her friends over the phone.
"She was afraid and didn't understand what's happened," Auvray said. "She can't find words to describe what's happened. All of my friends in Paris … can't describe what's happened."
Like them, Auvray is shocked.
"I am so surprised. It's so difficult to find words about [this]. I think that there is no word existing to describe [it]," she said. "It's terrifying."
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