Athletics: 2022 Worlds positive for the United States and disappointing for France
The Americans victorious in the 4x400 meter relay at the 2022 Worlds in Eugene.
REUTERS - BRIAN SNYDER
Text by: David Kalfa Follow
2 mins
The 2022 World Athletics Championships ended on July 24 in Eugene with the expected victory of the United States, at home.
Disappointing Worlds for France, only medalist with the gold of Kevin Mayer on decathlon.
For the African nations, the overall balance remains stable with 28 podiums including 9 titles.
Advertising
Read more
Two years before the 2024 Paris Olympics, French athletics is not reassured.
The tricolor delegation almost left with arms dangling from the 2022 Worlds, which has not happened to it since 1993. It owes its salvation to its superstar,
Kevin Mayer, who regained his title on decathlon
, after winning it in 2017 then lost in 2019.
The golden parenthesis of the mid-2010s, with excellent results at the 2013 and
2017
Worlds as well as at the 2016 Olympics, seems to be closed, confirming the decline glimpsed in Doha (2 podiums) three years ago, as well as at the
Olympics 2021
(1 medal).
"
It's a very positive assessment for me with a team found in terms of character, with people who have come closer to the podium
", assured all the same the director of high performance of the French Athletics Federation, Roman Barras.
The United States remains the best nation
France is however very far from posting the results of the United States.
Unsurprisingly, the American athletes finished at the top of the medal standings with 33 charms including 13 gold.
They certainly said goodbye to their icon
Allyson Felix
– 30 podiums at the Worlds and the Olympics, including 22 coronations – left at 36 with bronze in the 4x400 meter mixed relay.
But they have in
Sydney McLaughlin
, 22 years old and explosive in the 400m hurdles (new world record at stake), a new headliner.
The domination of the US spinters, with hat-tricks in the 100 and 200 meters, is inevitably also a source of satisfaction for their federation, USA Track & Field.
The latter can turn serenely to the next Summer Games, or even those long awaited in Los Angeles in 2028, the American medalists being on average 25 years old.
Stable results for Africa
For the African nations represented at the 2022 Worlds, the overall balance remains stable with 28 medals, including 9 gold, in line with the results obtained at Doha 2019 (27 podiums, 9 titles) and London 2017 (28 podiums, 10 titles).
It should be noted that Ethiopia, with its four world titles in Eugene, has once again become the number one African country in the World Championships ahead of Kenya, for the first time since 2005.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Athletics
Sports