The French delegation knows its flag bearers for the Tokyo Olympics (July 23 – August 8) in the person of judokate Clarisse Agbegnenou and gymnast Samir Ait Saïd. They succeed the judoka Teddy Riner, French flag bearer at the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, five years ago.
Agbegenou, 28, is aiming for the Olympic title after his silver medal in 2016 while Samir Ait Saïd will try to come away with a medal after his terrible injury in full competition in Rio.
It carries me “, declared Clarisse Abgegnenou, already five-time world champion in -63 kg but eager to go for the Olympic gold which she lacks. “We are going to look for her with pleasure and a smile”, said the 2016 Olympic vice-champion. “Flag bearer is all about happiness and more! “, added Samir Aït Saïd, also in search of a first Olympic title and whose spectacular injury suffered in Rio, a double tibia-fibula fracture of the left leg, had marked the spirits.
A woman and a man for the first time
Other candidates to carry the French flag included heavyweights: swimmer Florent Manaudou and pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, both crowned Olympic champions in London in 2012, or discus thrower Mélina Robert-Michon, silver medalist in Rio and already five Olympic editions on the clock.
For the first time it is therefore not one but two flag bearers, a man and a woman, who will represent the French delegation, a possibility offered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
For the Olympic Games, the candidates were decided by 72 ambassadors, from 36 federations, through a points system. For the Paralympics, the selection took place via a public vote, which took place last June.
This is the first time that a gymnast will take the French Olympic delegation.
The flag bearers for the Paralympic Games, which will take place from August 24 to September 5, were chosen by a public vote by internet: they are Sandrine Martinet (judo) and Stéphane Houdet (tennis).
The announcement was made on France 2 and the athletes then went to the CNOSF (French National Olympic and Sports Committee) which elected a woman at its head a week ago, Brigitte Henriques, the first woman to hold this position since the creation of the body in 1972.
They looked at the gold
Among the candidates to carry the flag were heavyweights: swimmer Florent Manaudou and pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, crowned Olympic champions in London in 2012, or discus thrower Mélina Robert-Michon, silver medalist in Rio and already five Olympic editions on the clock.
Clarisse Agbegnenou reigns in the -63kg category. Crowned world champion for the first time in 2014 and Olympic vice-champion in 2016, it was during the Olympiad that led from Rio to Tokyo that she built one of the most extensive achievements in history of French judo.
Since 2017, she has left only crumbs to her opponents, winning the four world titles at stake, the most recent in June, plus three continental titles (2018, 2019 and 2020). Only Olympic gold is missing from the one who had thought “Stop everything” upon the announcement of the postponement of the Olympic Games.
Very present on social networks, Agbegnenou documents his life at 100 per hour and his commitments, especially for the cause of women. She has indeed developed a partnership with a brand of menstrual panties or has posed on the front page of Team Magazine for a report on the breasts of sportswomen.
Samir Aït Saïd, specialist in rings, had finished the Rio Games in the hospital, after having broken his left leg in a spectacular way on the reception of a jump. Four years before, he had not been able to participate in the London Olympics due to a previous injury.
READ ALSO. Olympic Games. What is a flag carrier for?
“It is a pride to carry a whole nation and a pseudo revenge”, commented the gymnast, whose rebound capacity and willpower are unanimously hailed. A follower of combat sports, he integrated boxing and Brazilian jujitsu into his preparation.
His rival on the rings will be the Greek Eleftherios Petrounias, reigning Olympic champion, also the flag bearer of his country’s delegation.
Certainly for now, Clarisse Agbegnenou and Samir Aït Said will enter the Olympic stadium in Tokyo on July 23, but the details of the opening ceremony are still kept confidential.
Pandemic obliges, it promises to be more sober than the disproportionate shows of the previous Olympics, and the number of spectators authorized to attend has not yet been fixed but could be very limited.
.
