On Sunday August 27, the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest ended with good news for the French delegation which won a silver medal in the men’s 4 x 400 meter relay. Finally a reward for the Tricolores which comes to attenuate a not very encouraging balance sheet one year before the Paris Olympic Games.
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With our special correspondent in Budapest, Cedric de Oliveira
On the gong or almost! When Téo Andant crossed the finish line behind his American competitor, the French athlete was able to savor his silver medal obtained with the 4 x 400 meter relay which allows his country not to leave Budapest empty-handed.
“ I’m super happy, frankly, we deserve this medal! We are super proud to bring it to France! I think that next year, we will all be ready, we are ready for 2024, everyone is ready in their heads for 2024. We will have to count on all of us, on the whole French team, we will bring in a lot of medals. »
27th place for France at these World Athletics Championships
However, the tricolor delegation did not shine in Hungary. Far from the objectives set by the Federation. Only one podium and eight finalist places. Leaders below their standards, like the decathlete Kevin Mayer who gave up. France finished 27th in the medal standings, tied with Colombia or Ecuador.
High Performance Director Romain Barras is struggling to hide his disappointment. “There have been too few athletes who have managed to transcend themselves with the blue jersey. There have been too few athletes who managed to break their personal best or beat their best performance of the season. Honestly, I think everyone got involved, had the motivation, wanted to perform, but on the other hand, many didn’t succeed. »
Like all the tricolor coaching, Romain Barras hopes that the French athletes will be able to transcend themselves next year at home. But before that, he will be summoned to the Élysée on Tuesday by the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra to discuss these disappointing results.
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