Tokyo (AFP)

Renaud Lavillenie injured, Alexandra Tavernier at the foot of the podium and Wilhem Belocian eliminated: the French athletics team had a nightmarish evening on Tuesday when they saw three of their most serious medal chances at the Tokyo Olympics vanish.

At the end of a day marked by the sensational world record of the Norwegian Karsten Warholm over 400 m hurdles (45 sec 95) and the double of the Jamaican Elaine Thompson, already queen of the 100 m, over 200 m, the Blues, who already did not have much certainty when arriving in Japan, have sunk and are now very close to experiencing a real fiasco, five years after the six podiums brought back from Rio.

The ultimate tricolor hopes on the track now rest on the broad shoulders of the world record holder in the decathlon Kevin Mayer, competing from Wednesday and erected as a savior of the endangered homeland, not to mention Quentin Bigot in the hammer final, also on Wednesday. .

On the road, Yohann Diniz will try to finish his career in style on Friday on the unpredictable 50 km walk.

It will take a faultless on their part to save the furniture but, whatever happens, the French athletics will leave Tokyo with a very worrying record, three years from the Paris Olympics.

Before Mayer's big debut, the French clan expected a lot from Renaud Lavillenie.

The 2012 Olympic pole vaulter champion, victim of a sprained left ankle three weeks ago and still disabled, had torn his qualification Saturday in pain but he was counting on his experience and the three days of rest before the final to invite themselves a third time on the podium at the Olympics.

But it is a new dark scenario that the ex-world record holder experienced.

Decidedly cursed, Lavillenie injured himself during the warm-up, this time to his right ankle, destroying any prospect of a medal at the outset.

He certainly managed, by gritting his teeth, to cross a bar at 5.70 m on his first attempt, but it was with tears in his eyes that he left the saltire.

Renaud Lavillenie congratulates his friend Armand Duplantis crowned Olympic champion in pole vault in Tokyo, August 3, 2021 Matthias Schrader POOL / AFP

- Cruel outcome -

The 34-year-old Frenchman still hung on, in particular being comforted by his young accomplice Armand Duplantis, winner for the first time at the Olympic Games (6.02 m).

After having made the dead end at 5.80 m, he tried the whole thing at 5.87 m without even managing to take off before going directly to the next bar (5.92 m).

But there was no miracle for the Clermontois.

The outcome of these Olympics is very cruel for the Frenchman, who returned to his best level at the start of the year after several seasons disrupted by physical problems.

He had thus regained this winter indoors heights more worthy of his standing, exceeding 6 m for the first time since March 2016 (6.06 m, on February 27) before being stopped in his tracks by a calf injury. and withdraw from the European Indoor Championships in Torun.

Alexandra Tavernier during the hammer throw competition in Tokyo, August 3, 2021 Andrej ISAKOVIC AFP

After a six-week break, he had started the preparation for the Olympics rather well and had landed in Tokyo with the 2nd best world performance in 2021 (5.92 m).

But his body betrayed him again at the worst possible time.

Lavillenie on the mat, the French could have bet on Alexandra Tavernier to sign a first podium.

But the European hammer vice-champion took the worst place, 4th (74.41 m), in a competition won by the Polish Anita Wlodarczyk, who won a third Olympic title (78.48 m).

To make matters worse, Wilhem Belocian bit the dust from the 110m hurdles heats.

Five years after his false start at the same stadium at the Rio Games, the Frenchman came out the back door again, not finishing the race after hitting a hurdle and leaving the stadium in tears.

Wilhem Belocian annoyed after hitting a hurdle during the 110m series of the Tokyo Games, August 3, 2021 Giuseppe CACACE AFP

A huge disillusionment for the hurdler, dominator among young people (world champion and junior world record holder in 2014) and who had finally taken his ease with the grown-ups this year by improving his personal time (13 sec 15) after winning his first big international title at the Euro indoor.

kn / jr / lve

© 2021 AFP