The star of the French athletics team could participate in the Olympics without the minimums thanks to a little-known rule.
Competing in the Olympics is the ultimate goal for many athletes. When these Olympic Games are held in one’s own country, the desire and desire to perform increases tenfold. In Paris, the French will be expected with hopes of numerous Olympic titles and a high ranking in the medal table.
Among the expected stars, we find Kevin Mayer. The decathlete is THE great chance of a gold medal in French athletics and even the chance of a medal in this discipline, which has had difficulty detecting talent for several years. Double world champion, Kévin Mayer has never won the gold medal at the Olympics, but is still a double vice-Olympic champion, with silver in Rio in 2016 and in Tokyo in 2021.
But often affected by injuries for several months and even years, Kevin Mayer has not yet achieved the Olympic minimums (8464 points) to be able to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A worrying statistic, the Frenchman has no longer completed a decathlon since that of San Diego in the United States in 2022, which put it on the roof of the world for the second time.
In order to avoid drama for the French delegation, the Athletics Federation managed to obtain a wild card for Kevin Mayer so that he can participate in the next European Championships in Rome which will take place from June 7 to 12. Because the Frenchman was not qualified. This invitation is also a great first for an unqualified athlete who is not registered in the “Race Road to Rome” (for athletes invited by quota or exemption). The status of the European Championships should allow it to be satisfied with a much lower performance (8100 to 8200 points) to qualify for the “ranking” (world ranking based on that of the ATP) of the international federation, as the reports L’Equipe.
If this is a new failure for the Frenchman, whether at the level of the invitation or the performance, the Federation would like to include a decathlon during the elite French championships on June 29-30 (but without awarding a national champion title , since it was awarded during the French combined events championships on May 18 and 19 in Oyonnax) in order to offer Kevin Mayer the opportunity to make the Olympics.
Asked regularly on this subject, Kevin Mayer nevertheless explained that he had difficulty projecting himself, but remained confident. “I’m not worried about qualifying. It’s the decathlon, we’re all ‘fart’ (injured)”, according to comments reported by Agence France Presse. “If I want to be in agreement with myself, I have to stop wanting to be in a hurry to do the minimums and I have to trust myself.” To reassure his fans, Kevin Mayer has become accustomed to tough Olympic qualifications like in 2012 (obtained at the beginning of July a month before the Olympics after three withdrawals) and in 2016 (obtained at the end of May).