Olympic Games: swimming and athletics, two major projects for France before Paris 2024

It is the Achilles heel of the French delegation to the Tokyo Olympics. Swimming and athletics only brought France two medals, in silver, thanks to Florent Manaudou (2nd in the 50m freestyle) and Kevin Mayer (2nd in the decathlon). Aside from these episodic performances, it is the void on the French side, whether in the Tokyo aquatic center or the Olympic Stadium, in these disciplines with the most medals.

A starving result that the French swimming and athletics federations had not known since the Sydney Games in 2000. They are now counting on the relief tricolor to straighten the bar at the dawn of the Paris Olympics in 2024. Yes, for swimming, young talents seem to be able to emerge at the best of times, it is more complicated on the athletics side, which is looking for a promising young generation.

In swimming, the succession expected firmly

With only one medal, French swimming had a disappointing record in Tokyo. Florent Manaudou aside, the swimmers installed on the French side did not shine. There are three in particular who swam far from their best:

, 2018 European champion in the 200m,

, 2017 world bronze medalist in the 100m, and

, 2019 world bronze medalist in the 800m. . This is not really a surprise: all have been sailing on sight in recent months, between injuries and bad shapes. They could not allow the relays to glean a medal in these Games.

However, the tricolor swimming can bring its hopes on its young talents. His young generation tasted Olympic water this summer, and if it did not win, it left great promises for the Paris 2024 Games. The first of them,

(22), is the only one to have come close to a medal by finishing 4th in the 100m, behind the untouchable Dressel-Chalmers-Kolesnikov trio. The Toulousain

, 19, was invited to the final of the demanding 400m medley (6th). Same result for

(24 years old), 6th in the 100m butterfly final, which aligns high level performances.

The original version of the 100m freestyle this morning: 0 medal for the moment for the France team but impressive results for Paris 2024. In particular Maxime Grousset, great hope of French swimming, or @ leon_marchand… pic.twitter .com / wQby2wypEp

- francetvsport (@francetvsport) July 29, 2021

If they did not win a finals, other young French swimmers broke their personal best in these Games, like

on the 100m backstroke, or

on the 200m medley. .

A rise in power which augurs well for the Parisian fortnight, in three years.

The questioning of French athletics

If swimming began to decline from the Rio Games (three medals against seven in 2012 in London), French athletics took a real hit in Tokyo. The six medals collected in Brazil already seem far away while the silver of the decathlete Kevin Mayer, the only French medal in athletics, also sounds like a disappointment for the one who was aiming for the Olympic title. The president of the French athletics federation (FFA), André Giraud, explains these poor performances above all by "a lack of success". The leader thus highlights the injuries that handicapped the main French chances during the Games:

on pole,

over 110 m hurdles or

also over 110 m hurdles.

The pain was too much for Renaud Lavillenie today.

Despite everything, the Auvergnat gave the maximum.

The 2012 Olympic champion remains positive and is already planning to meet in Paris in 2024!

# Tokyo2020 # Olympic

Games ▶ Follow the Olympics https://t.co/oQuEFfAwUcpic.twitter.com/U3OjZGCLXg

- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 3, 2021

But there are other worrying parameters three years from the Paris Games. Of the 65 athletes at the start of the competitions, only eight of them made it to the final of their discipline. In the sprint, no successor to 

has

in Tokyo. The young hopefuls

 (24 years old) in the 5,000 m or

 (23 years old) in the 800 m showed only the tip of their nose in the final, without playing the leading roles. Two years after the fiasco of the Doha World Championships (two medals, no title), the athletics federation is still at risk of getting slapped on the fingers. Claude Onesta, the manager of high performance at the National Sports Agency, speaks of a "record without concessions" for the FFA.

For

however, 5th in the hammer throw final, this starving record is "the fault of the athletes, not the federation" which had provided "everything needed to progress".

Her counterpart

 (24) is the only French representative to have failed at the foot of a medal, by gleaning 4th place in the final competition.

A performance that remains hopeful for the Haut-Savoyarde.

In conclusion, a not-so-black picture?

These Tokyo Olympics were an opportunity to highlight the flaws in French swimming and athletics, three years before the major meeting of the Paris Games. The two disciplines most endowed with medals brought only two to the French delegation. But all is not negative for all that. The young swimming talents will grow and have the qualities to shine in broad daylight. In athletics, the mission seems more complex, but the returns to form of the "old" and the affirmation of the new generation could bear fruit in 2024.