The cons of Batum, the tears of Agbegnenou ... Our highlights of the Games

We are not much denser than a fortnight to cover the Olympic Games That's it, the end of the Tokyo Olympics, which ends this Sunday. Between the expected medals, the surprises, the health restrictions, 1,000 things happened during these two weeks. The special envoys of "20 Minutes" have concocted a retrospective of the best moments for you. From our special envoys in Tokyo, Sayonara Tokyo. It would be a bit of a lie to say that we have not seen the time passed,

That's it, the end of the Tokyo Olympics, which ends this Sunday.
Between the expected medals, the surprises, the health restrictions, 1,000 things happened during these two weeks.
The special envoys of "20 Minutes" have concocted a retrospective of the best moments for you.

From our special envoys in Tokyo,

Sayonara Tokyo.

It would be a bit of a lie to say that we have not seen the time passed, but no question of being choosy.

When it's your first Olympic Games, it's still hard not to be like a kid in front of the density of events that presents itself to you every day.

And yet, we have not covered a quarter of half of what we would have liked to do.

Full of memories in the end, of ignitions, of bad faith, of emotions in front of the joys and the sorrows of champions.

We tell you how we experienced them in 11 short episodes.

The moment when we realized that these Games would be complicated

The 43 forms to fill in to have access to codes allowing to download applications to record his activities planned on the spot, even before the departure, had put us the chip in the ear.

And yet, after having spent five hours at the airport, it is the fact of having each had to take his own taxi to reach the hotel when we had just spent the 12 hours of flight side by side and we was going to sleep in the same room for three weeks which really made us realize that logistics were going to take up a lot of space in these Games.

The three good hours spent each day in the official shuttles then only confirmed the trap.

Until this blessed 14th day, when the organization gives you your pass for public transport.

Alleluia.

The craziest moment of our Olympics

Our first week pantheon fluctuated between victory in team judo against Japan and the incredible comeback of the foil girls against Italy.

But basically, nothing really surpassed the last 44 seconds of the basketball semi-final between France and Italy.

The passage in force of Fournier, the last ball for Luka AK 47, and this gigantic counter of Nico "Batman" Batum on Prepelic when all was lost, pouaaaaaaaaaah the absolute panard.

Even more so with this little seum from Doncic at the exit, as if the refereeing had something to do with his 2/127 three point in the second half.

At the Louvre as planned the cons of Nico Batum 😂😂😂 #Basketball #fra pic.twitter.com/1O0Sm5TkPP

- M🇫🇷V🇨🇬P (@PSGSusic) August 5, 2021

The paper we loved to write

If the cover of the tricolor podiums loses a little of its flavor over the fortnight through habit, the feeling of plenitude that escorts the country's first gold medal has no equivalent.

Especially when it is as improbable as that of Romain Cannone with the sword, on the second day of the Games.

We had interviewed the future Olympic champion a little by chance a few weeks before during a media meeting, and we were very happy to know his history with the United States before embarking on the story of the victory.

Otherwise, we would never have had this fiery punchline: “The Americans didn't want me.

I said to myself "Ok, I'm going back to France, I'm going to prove to you that I'm worth something." "It's done, Romain.

Our revelation of the Games

Like 98% of the population, our climbing experience was limited to a wall 3 meters high moderately vertical during a nature class in CM2. The discovery of the competition mode was one of the good moments of these Games. Admittedly, the combined format (speed-block-difficulty) was not easy for athletes, who never practice the three specialties in normal times, but it had the merit of showing the general public all the facets of this. sport, with stars who played the game. The decor was not bad either… He just missed a small French medal for the picture to be complete.

Pretty crazy scenery for the first Olympic #climbing final in Tokyo 🇯🇵😍 Frenchman Mickaël Mawem took 3rd place in speed, and has just completed the first boulder on the first try.

But it is very tight between the 8 finalists.

pic.twitter.com/GVSEgOAslS

- Dorine Besson (@ DorineBe13) August 5, 2021

When we regretted getting up at 5 in the morning

There, it was sure, it was cooked gold.

What push to put the alarm clock at 5 in the morning after having returned at a good midnight the day before.

Vincent Luis in the triathlon and Marc-Antoine Olivier in the 10 km in open water were well worth that.

Results?

Itchy eyes, and not just from fatigue.

Favorites, they are both missing out, without being able to explain it.

We could not even console ourselves with a good shouting from Philippe Lucas.

Olivier's coach was there, shirtless watching the race on the giant screen, and we thought he was going to save our morning.

Not even.

The victory that brought tears to our eyes

We are no more judo than that and we do not know her personally, but damn it, Clarisse Agbegnenou almost managed to get us a tear when she knocked down Tina Trstenjak in the -63 kg final at the Budokan.

Five years that one of the greatest judokats in history spoke about this title which she missed so much, with in addition the pain of having to wait more than expected, until this moment.

Her face at that precise moment, her way of carrying her Slovenian opponent (who had just beaten her in the final in Rio) just after, the reaction of the latter, sincerely happy for the French ... There was everything in these few seconds that still give a damn about us.

The time we felt like Pablo Escobar

No drug story here, we reassure our bosses (and our parents).

But this return on foot from the Olympic Stadium on the fourth day of competition in the most total illegality, bluetooth off, the step in a hurry and the shy gaze because we were not allowed to leave the perimeter of the Olympics, made the fight strong our little heart of model citizens.

But hey, at 1 am, when we saw that it was a 25-minute walk or two-hour bus ride through the other end of town, we didn't hesitate for long.

The mixed zone that will remain for a long time

There have been sad ones (Samir Aït-Saïd), moving ones (Kevin Mayer), euphoric ones (team judo), but the one that we will remember, because it brings together all the emotions, is that of rowers Claire Bové and Laura Tarantola after their silver medal, in the middle of the first week.

That day, we saw happiness in its raw state, two really touching girls, who gave themselves up on each other with the greatest sincerity.

It was beautiful, and we took pleasure in trying to transcribe it as well as possible.

Tarantola-Bové, the money to celebrate a real bond via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/K5FF4snCSi

- 20 Minutes Sport (@ 20minutesSport) July 29, 2021