Olympic Games: the big absentees from Tokyo 2021

South African Caster Semenya during the 5000m final of the South African Championships, in Pretoria, April 15, 2021 Phill Magakoe AFP / Archives

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For various reasons, several big names in world sport will not make the trip to Tokyo for the Olympic Games (July 23-August 8).

Like Roger Federer for tennis, Caster Semenya in athletics or LeBron James for basketball.

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In tennis, the absence of Swiss

Roger Federer

is noticed.

Because to his immense record, he will always miss the Olympic title.

A relapse of his right knee injury forced Roger Federer to give up traveling to Tokyo, where he would have celebrated his 40th birthday.

The Spaniard

Rafael Nadal

, 35, has decided to ignore it to “ 

listen to his body

 ”.

As for

Serena Williams

, 39, the decision of the organizers not to welcome the relatives of the athletes weighed heavily: she explained that she did not want to be separated from her daughter.

In triple jump,

Christian Taylor,

double Olympic champion in the triple jump, will not be able to make the pass of three, he ruptured his Achilles tendon in April.

To read also

: Tokyo Olympics: Hugues Fabrice Zango wants to become the master Stallion of the triple jump

No LeBron James due to injury

In basketball,

LeBron James

, NBA star, 36, who missed part of the season due to injury, will therefore not go in search of a third Olympic title after those of 2008 and 2012. Another NBA star who 33-year-old Stephen Curry will be missed by "Team USA".

As for

Giannis Antetokounmpo

and

Nikola Jokic

, considered two of the best players of the moment, they will also be absent because Greece and Serbia are not qualified.

Some would have liked to make the trip but they are forced to stay at home, suspended for doping.

By signing a time of 10 sec 72 in April,

Sha'Carri Richardson

was announced as the one who could make her acclaim in the American women's 100m sprint, but a positive test for marijuana during the American selections at the end of June decided it. other.

She was dismissed by her federation.

Absence of Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, suspended

The absence of Chinese swimmer

Sun Yang

, three-time Olympic champion, is the consequence of the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to confirm his suspension for having destroyed with a hammer a vial of his blood carried away by inspectors in 2018 He will only be able to return before the Paris Games, at the age of 32. The suspension is shorter for

Christian Coleman

(18 months), but his three breaches of his anti-doping whereabouts obligations will deprive the 2019 100m world champion (25) of the possibility of doubling with an Olympic title.

In football, after a season that dragged on with the Copa America and the Euro, and especially the veto of their clubs which were not required to release them, we will note the absence of big names in football like

Neymar , Messi, Mbappé

or even

Mohamed Salah.

In athletics, on the marathon, there will not be this long-awaited duel between

Kenenisa Bekele

, who did not take part in the Ethiopian Olympic qualifications and the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge As for

Mo Farah

, he will not enrich his collection of medals.

The Briton, who twice achieved the 5,000m / 10,000m double, did not achieve the minimums.

Caster Semenya misses his bet

As for the South African

Caster Semenya

, forced to line up over 5,000 m, she missed her bet to win her ticket over this distance. Presenting a natural excess of male hormones (hyperandrogenism), she refuses to comply with the decision of World Athletics to impose on her a treatment to lower her testosterone level, condition to be able to align with her fetish distance of the 800 m which her brought home two gold medals.

In cycling, after having undergone surgery following a fall during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France, the Slovak rider

Peter Sagan

withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics.

The reigning world champion in road cycling

Julian Alaphilippe will

not follow after the Tour de France, when the course seemed cut out for the puncher.

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