The French delegation had a crazy day on Thursday at the Tokyo Olympics.
His three men's basketball, handball and volleyball teams advanced to the final.
In addition, decathlete Kevin Mayer won silver and karateka Steven Da Costa gleaned France's 7th Olympic title.
What a day again for the French at the Tokyo Olympics! The men's handball, basketball and volleyball teams have chronologically validated their place in the final on Thursday and will try to bring back new gold medals to France on Saturday. Gold precisely, the karateka Steven Da Costa won it thanks to his victory in the -67 kg category. He thus became the first Olympic karate champion in the history of the Games. Another great success: the silver medal snatched by Kevin Mayer in the decathlon after his efforts and his pain.
Despite all this good news, some disappointments to highlight on the French side.
In tears at the finish, Pascal Martinot-Lagarde did not manage to climb on the podium in the 110m hurdles by finishing in 5th place in the final.
Track cyclist Benjamin Thomas finished 4th and narrowly misses the bronze.
France ensures 30 medals in these Games, and with a total of 27 charms, it is placed on Thursday in 8th position in the medal table.
Olympic Games - French
medals Infogram
Three finals for men's team sports!
This is unprecedented in the history of the Olympic Games: the French handball, basketball and volleyball teams all reached the final of their tournament after their victories in the semi-finals on Thursday. A 3/3 of the gentlemen which allows France to ensure three new medals for the delegation, which is more or less in silver. The Olympic day had already started well with the success
of the French handball players
against Egypt, in a game that settled at the end of the second half (27-23). The Blues were able to count on a huge Vincent Gérard in goals to validate their fourth consecutive Olympic final. They will meet again with Denmark, who beat Spain, on Saturday at 2 p.m. French time for the revenge of the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The Blues have done the job and qualify for their fourth consecutive Olympic final.
The French team has dominated Egypt (27-23) thanks to a stratospheric Vincent Gérard #JeuxOlympiques
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 5, 2021
But the real sensation on the side of French team sports comes from the feat
of basketball players
. Rudy Gobert and his partners overcame Slovenia's Luka Doncic phenomenon thanks to a saving counter from Nicolas Batum in the very last second of the semi-final (90-89). A real performance for the men of Vincent Collet who inflict the first defeat of the Slovenes in these Games. Nando de Colo (25 points) and Evan Fournier (23 points) led this French team to the win, with a Gobert still valuable in defense. It will therefore be the revenge in the final against the United States, qualified a little earlier, that the Blues had beaten in the opening. To follow the match, you will have to put your alarm clock: kick off scheduled for Saturday at 4:30 am French time!
France beats Slovenia thanks to a last second against its captain Nicolas Batum to challenge the United States in the final (90-89).
Magic !
# Tokyo2020 # Olympic
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 5, 2021
In the Tokyo night, the French volleyball players completed the success of the French teams by winning solidly in three sets against Argentina (25-22, 25-19, 25-22). Jean Patry (15 points), Trévor Clévenot (14 points) and Earvin Ngapeth (12 points) are once again the best scorers on the side of the Blues. Laurent Tillie's players enter a little more into the history of French volleyball by qualifying for the first Olympic final of the French team. A final that the Blues will play on Saturday, at 2:15 p.m. in France, against the Russian Olympic Committee. The French won against this formidable team in the group stage. To repeat the same performance would be the best gift for coach Laurent Tillie, who will leave office after the Olympics.
THEY ARE IN THE FINAL!
Victory 3 sets to 0 against Argentina !!
The French have a volleyball final for the first time in the history of the Games!
Our French team sports are magical #TousEnFinale
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 5, 2021
Steven Da Costa first Olympic karate champion!
He too will forever be the first! A week after the victory of the French judo team in the first mixed Olympic competition, karateka Steven Da Costa, 24, also won the gold medal Thursday in the -67 kg category. The world number one dominated the Turkish Eray Samdan in the final by waza-ari and ippon (5 points to 0) to win the very first karate title at the Olympics. Unfortunately, the discipline disappears from the next Olympics in Paris in 2024. The 24-year-old Frenchman will therefore not be able to defend his chances in three years, but his name will remain etched forever in the history of karate.
He only thought about gold, only participated for that, Steven Da Costa did it!
The world number one (-67 kg), World Champion, also becomes OLYMPIC CHAMPION
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 5, 2021
Kevin Mayer's fight for the silver medal!
What a champion! After his back pain and his efforts, Kevin "Hercules" Mayer, even diminished, managed to retain his Olympic silver medal in the decathlon in Tokyo five years after the Rio Games. The Montpellier driver, 5th at the end of the first day, saw the podium move further and further away. His beating start to the second day and then his personal best in the javelin (73.09 meters) allowed him to scratch 2nd place with a total of 8,726 points, behind Canadian Damian Warner, champion and new Olympic record holder (9,018) . This major feat of the French allows the French delegation to win its first medal in athletics.
Kevin Mayer shines in silver ✌ Badly embarked with a recalcitrant back pain, the French gave everything in the decathlon.
The outcome of the 1500 meters guarantees him a 2nd place on the podium # Tokyo2020 # Olympic
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 5, 2021
In short, disappointments to be highlighted on the French side
Even though France experienced new exploits on Thursday, the delegation also suffered disappointments.
Pascal Martinot-Lagarde
, great chance for a medal, and
Aurel Manga
finished 5th and 8th respectively in the 110m hurdles final. Fourth in Rio, Martinot-Lagarde hoped to glean a medal this summer and the athlete ended up in tears when he arrived. At the same time,
Melvin Raffin
was the first to be eliminated from the long jump final. In climbing,
Mickaël Mawem
, also in a good position to take home a medalist, only took 5th place in the discipline's first Olympic final. At the omnium,
Benjamin Thomas
, also came to seek gold, failed at the foot of the podium in 4th place.
Hansle Parchment created a sensation by beating Grant Holloway in the 110m hurdles final.
Ronald Levy completes the podium.
Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and Aurel Manga finish 5th and 8th respectively # Tokyo2020
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 5, 2021
At the skatepark,
Vincent Matheron
also failed to win a medal in the final because of his falls during his three runs. Finally, the modern pentathlon, another chance of charm on the French side, has started but the French team is already badly embarked.
Élodie Clouvel
, silver medalist in Rio in 2016, is in 24th place. His companion
Valentin Belaud
, also involved, is 19th after the first day while
Valentin Prades
, best French in the provisional ranking, climbed to 11th place on Thursday.