Stuttgart (Germany) (AFP)

Before the world medal race, the one at the Olympics 2020: the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships deliver the last nine Olympic Ses ses by team from the qualifications, from Friday in Stuttgart (Germany), the goal N.1 of the gymnasts French.

For superstar Simone Biles and her team-mates, the stakes are not there. The Americans, reigning world champions, have their ticket to Tokyo in their pocket for a year already, as all the nations medalists in the team competition at the World-2018: Russian and Chinese side ladies, Chinese, Russian and Japanese side gentlemen .

For other countries, Stuttgart is the last event to send a group to the Olympics 2020, and ensure the presence of at least four gymnasts. For this, it is necessary to rank among the nine best (excluding those already qualified) after the qualifications, Friday and Saturday for women's teams, Sunday and Monday for men.

"Clearly, for the moment, we do not care about medals, what matters to us is to get this Olympic qualification team and after, eventually, we will talk about finals and medals", summarizes with AFP Samir Aït-Saïd, six-time European medalist, half to the rings.

"It's our priority for girls and boys," confirms national technical director Kévinn Rabaud.

- Les Bleues aim for the podium -

If it looks formal for the Blues, fifth in 2018 and led by triple European champion Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos (general competition in 2019, ground in 2018 and 2019), despite the ligament injury to an ankle of Coline Devillard, it promises to be much more complicated for the men's group, deprived of certain elements (Augis retiree, Gobaux and Degouy wounded in particular).

"Everyone is aware of the difficulty of the task: even if we all succeed, we will surely have to rely on the mistakes of the competing nations," said Yann Cucherat, the director of the top men.

"It is far from being acquired, but we will fight with our weapons," recognizes Aït Saïd, aligned rings, jump and ground. The other blue pillar, Cyril Tommasone, European vice-champion in pommel, will be engaged on his favorite tackle, as well as parallel bars and the bar.

In addition to qualifying for Tokyo, the Tricolores, they, all other claims: to climb the podium of the team competition, a performance that the French gymnastics has not known since 1950! "By doing our best moves, it is accessible," dares Lorette Charpy, vice-champion of Europe in title with the Blue.

- More records for Biles? -

Individually, "DJDS", the winner and ambitious face of the French gym at age 19, openly aims for a world medal. "With Simone Biles, we know that the first place is already taken, but I will do everything to be as close to it as possible," she assumes with AFP.

If she succeeds in the general competition, which she ranked sixth in 2018 and fifth in 2017, it will be a historic first for the tricolor gymnastics.

In total, more than two-thirds of the Olympic tickets will be distributed over the World Championships in 2019, since in addition to those in teams, the qualifications of the all-around competition and the apparatus finals will award up to thirty more, ladies' side as well. gentlemen.

Far away from these concerns, Biles (22) should continue to inscribe his name - until the proper meaning - in the history of the gym.

The four-time Olympic champion 2016 may well baptize her name two new acrobatics, floor and beam. A particular jump, that she released last year, already wears it.

The first ever four-time world champion in the all-around, she is likely to set the bar a notch higher.

The gymnast with the largest number of world crowns (14) could become the one leading the most extensive collection of planetary medals. It has twenty so far, three less "only" than the Belarusian legend Vitaly Scherbo (23 between 1991 and 1996).

© 2019 AFP