FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Victorious over Japan in the final of the mixed team judo tournament, France won a magnificent gold medal in Tokyo in 2021. A title that it intends to retain at home during the Paris Games.
PARIS JO 2024 – This is one of the conditions for the success of the event: will the French team manage to get among the best nations in the medal rankings of the Paris Olympic Games? While the goal of a top 5 is regularly hammered home by political leaders – Emmanuel Macron in the lead – and sportsmen, several projections present it as largely achievable.
Seasoned veterans and rising stars
But it must be acknowledged that if the planets align, many French athletes and teams can legitimately believe in a medal given their pedigree and their recent results. As you can see in the infographic belowwe have listed 30 podium chances, each more credible than the last.
The list includes legends of their sport, such as the greatest judoka in history, Teddy Riner, or multi-medal-winning cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot; teams in full swing, such as the mixed relay in triathlon or handball teams that have never seemed so dominant; and more recent forces, such as BMX freestyle champion Anthony Jeanjean, kitesurfing queen Lauriane Nolot, or rising star (no pun intended) of climbing Oriane Bertone.
In short, a nice mix between seasoned veterans eager to treat themselves to one last gigantic thrill at home and a generation brought up on the goal of the Olympic Games in France who will arrive without any complexes on the most beautiful stage in the world. And that’s without even mentioning the traditional Olympic surprises, such as wrestler Steeve Guénot and his title in 2008 in Beijing, gymnast Émilie Le Pennec who lit up the Athens Games in 2004 or more recently the unexpected gold of fencer Romain Cannone in Tokyo. See you on Sunday, August 11 to do the math.
Source: www.huffingtonpost.fr
