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Slip once and all of France is watching
Photo: AFP
In the presence of President Emmanuel Macron, a French diver slipped while jumping from a three-meter board. Alexis Jandard, a participant in the Tokyo Olympics and a medal hope for the Games in Paris this summer, takes his failed exit into the water with humor. "I'm doing really well - and it looks impressive in the pictures," he said in an Instagram story.
The mishap occurred during the inauguration of the Olympic aquatics center in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris. Politicians, including President Macron, also took part in the ceremony. They also watched the synchronized diving of the three divers, including Jandard.
In video footage that was shared on social networks, Jandard can be seen taking a run-up alongside the other two jumpers. However, when he jumps he somehow loses his balance, hits his back on the board and falls into the water. “I fell before the president, I fell before the entire nation,” Jandard later said on Instagram.
Jandard also shows his back on Instagram, where several abrasions can be seen. But the 26-year-old was not seriously injured. "I'm doing well. I wasn't injured, unfortunately things like that happen," Jandard told RMC Sport. Something like this happens all the time to divers, especially during training. “But this time it was in front of the president at the inauguration of the pool. It was the most inopportune moment.”
Ultimately, Alexis Jandard takes his faux pas with humor. »I wish this ceremony had gone well from start to finish. Then there was this little glitch. If it made people smile a little, all the better.”
The 2024 Summer Olympics will take place in Paris from July 26th to August 11th. There had previously been conflicts over the water sports center in Saint-Denis because allotments had to be made way for construction. The famous book stalls on the Seine don't have to go after President Macron's word of power.
mgo/AFP/Reuters