Tokyo (AFP)

After his back somersault on Friday at the opening ceremony as flag bearer for the France team, gymnast Samir Aït Saïd successfully entered competition by qualifying 24 hours later for the Olympic rings final.

The gymnast, who had finished the Rio Olympics at the hospital after breaking his leg in qualifying after landing a jump, pawed to enter the track: "I'm thirsty for victory, I have the damn, I want to bring back a medal ", he explained this week.

He finished third with 15,066 points behind the Chinese Liu Yang (15,300 points) while the Greek Eleftherios Petrounias, reigning Olympic champion, qualified in extremis at the end of June, obtained 15,333 points and finished first in the competition.

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The final will be held on August 2.

Samir Aït Saïd is one of the chances for French medals in gymnastics with Mélanie De Jesus Dos Santos who enters the competition on Sunday for the women's individual and team qualifications.

Day which will mark the arrival of the American queen Simone Biles on the Japanese apparatus.

The other two French competitors failed.

Loris Frasca, jumping specialist did not manage to qualify for this apparatus (20th) or the all-around (44th).

Cyril Tommasone on pommel horse also failed to qualify, finishing far behind in 42nd place.

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