Nairobi (AFP)
Lightning Zhoya, Konaté satisfaction, Ammirati disappointment: the counter stops at 8 medals for France during the Under-20 World Athletics Championships which ended Sunday in Nairobi.
The French delegation more than doubled its total of podiums compared to the 2018 World Cup, where it had won only 3 medals, without a single gold.
But this record, at first glance encouraging for French athletics, is also explained by the absence of the United States, China, Russia and Great Britain, dominant nations, which do not participate because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
French Sahsa Zhoya, winner of the 110m hurdles final at the Under-20 World Championships, August 20, 2021 in Nairobi Tony KARUMBA AFP
France in athletics must react in view of the Paris-2024 Olympics, after a starving record of a medal at the Olympics-2020 (Kevin Mayer in silver on the decathlon).
The next French leader seems ideal: Sasha Zhoya, winner of the 110 m hurdles on Saturday by smashing the U20 world record with a time of 12 sec 72 / 100th, is called to dominate among the seniors, where the hurdles are however higher ( 106 cm against 99 cm in less than 20 years).
The Franco-Australian arrow crushed the competition, finishing the final several meters ahead of Jamaican Vashaun Vacianna.
The joy of French Sahsa Zhoya, after winning the u 110 m hurdles final and setting a new world record at the Under 20 World Championships on August 20, 2021 in Nairobi Tony KARUMBA AFP
The other satisfaction of the Worlds is Erwan Konaté, titled in the long jump, passing the symbolic bar of 8 meters for the first time with a jump to 8.12 m.
The Amiens at the same time erased the French record for the category, previously set at 7.97 m.
Among the women, Maële Biré-Heslouis won the silver medal in the 10 km walk, a month after the bronze gleaned in July at the European Championships in Estonia.
Holder of the French distance record in the under 20 category, it continues to progress globally, ahead of all its European competitors.
Ludivine Aubert, silver medalist in the 400 meters hurdles, achieved her best personal performance with 57 sec 16 / 100th, far from the world record set in 53 sec 60 / 100th by the American Sydney McLaughlin in 2018, who became since Olympic champion in Tokyo.
These Worlds have all the same given birth to disappointments, among which is, in the foreground, the underperformance of Anthony Ammirati, big favorite of the pole vault competition, but who did not cross any bar.
European champion, at the top of the world records in his category with his 5.72 m cleared in June, he completely missed out on the competition.
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