From our special correspondent in Tokyo,

Bad luck pursues the locomotives of the French athlete.

After Renaud Lavillenie, Kevin Mayer revealed after the first decathlon events that he was reduced by back pain.

Fortunately, our 110m hurdles specialists are there to put a smile on our face.

The night of the French

Things are not going strong for Kevin Mayer.

The world champion, silver medalist in Rio, is already seeing his Olympic dream fly away after three events (100m, long jump and weight).

“It's been a week since I blocked my back, it's been a very long time since this had happened, he explained, on the verge of tears, at the microphone of Nelson on France TV.

I have very little feeling, very little pleasure, but I believe that I can go for a medal even like that.

"

We'll have to hang on for silver or bronze, because the title seems destined for his Canadian opponent Warner, who has apparently decided to beat all his personal bests in this decathlon.

Things went better for Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and Aurel Manga in the 110m hurdles.

The two French have qualified for the final, which will take place next night.

🗣️ “I got my back blocked when I arrived in Japan. I'm not enjoying it”



🇫🇷 Kévin Mayer's distress following his 4th place overall in the decathlon after three stages.



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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 4, 2021

In the remains of the world, the youngest of the French delegation, skater Madeleine Larcheron (15), took 13th place in the park.

His best result at the international level.

"I came there to have fun, that's what I did," responded the young Parisian.

No regrets either for Lara Grangeon, 9th in the 10km open water after having "given everything".

In kayaking, Maxime Beaumont qualified for the K1 200m semi-finals, as did Manon Hostens over 500m.

The pair Emmanuel Hubert-Guillaume Burger, on the other hand, was eliminated in K2 1000m.

The image of the night

It is unfortunately that of the French Mathilde Rivière, victim of a dislocated shoulder during her round of 16 (-57 kg).

Premature end of the course for the wrestler.

🤼 🇫🇷 The terrible image of Frenchwoman Mathilde Rivière who could not even finish the fight against Mongolian Boldsaikhan.

Injured in the shoulder, the Habs left the mat and stopped in the round of 16 #Olympic



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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 4, 2021

The star of the night

And a new world record, one!

American Sydney McLaughlin improved her own mark by four tenths in the women's 400m hurdles final on Wednesday.

Her time of 51''46 gave her her first Olympic title, ahead of her compatriot Dalilah Muhammad and the Dutchwoman Femke Bol.

The good news of the night

Belarusian Krystsina Tsimanouskaya left Tokyo for Vienna on Wednesday, a stopover most likely before reaching Poland, which granted her a humanitarian visa.

The 24-year-old was at the heart of a diplomatic crisis having openly criticized his country's Athletics Federation on Sunday.

She then claimed that the authorities wanted to repatriate her by force.

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