At the end of a trying qualifying tournament in Antalya (Turkey), Jean-Charles Valladont obtained the Grail: a third Olympic qualification. The silver medalist of the last Rio Games is therefore one of the two archers of the French archery team (with Lisa Barbelin), who have already qualified for Tokyo.
Never two without three they say. Jean-Charles Valladont is now a witness. The Franc-Comtois qualified for his third Olympiad on the land of Antalya in Turkey. For this Olympic qualifying tournament, four tickets to Tokyo were available for men, and four more for women, but within the limit of one ticket per nation. At 32, the native of Besançon has shown that he still had some under the pedal. The key to qualifying was played from the quarter-finals of the tournament. Indeed, after winning his first two meetings, Jean-Charles Valladont was opposed to the German Maximilian Weckmueller, formidable opponent. The Frenchman finally emerged victorious from this duel at the top (7 to 3), in particular by offering himself a perfect end to conclude the meeting (26-24; 27-27; 28-25; 25-28; 30-28) . This spectacular victory, however, did not allow Bisontin to obtain its qualification for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Indeed, his teammate, Thomas Chirault, also qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament. Due to the Olympic quotas available for this tournament, the ticket to Tokyo would be played between the two partners. The result finally tipped in favor of the Franc-Comtois. “Psychologically I was impacted, but my experience allowed me to stay calm in the semi-finals. I finally won my semi-final, and Thomas lost his. I knew then that I was going to win the Olympic quota. Eight years ago, I would have shook a lot more, ”said Jean-Charles Valladont.
After participating in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, then in the Rio Games in 2016 (silver medalist), Bisontin has given itself the means to experience its third Olympiad in Tokyo. The latter will of course want to shine in singles but also wants to be aligned on the team table. “There is still a long way to go towards the Olympics, but today was only a step. In 15 days in Paris will take place the world cup with a team TQO this time! Our France team must therefore earn its place for the Olympics, ”explains the 32-year-old archer. A new big meeting to come therefore for Bisontin, which is still far from having lived everything in its career. Perhaps the best is yet to come.
Mattéo Rolet
Photo credit: Icon Sport
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