Perfs of the day
Shoot. Vice-Olympic champion in Rio, Frenchman Jean Quiquampoix on Monday converted silver into gold in the 25-meter rapid-fire pistol final at the Tokyo Games. At the Asaka shooting range, northwest of Tokyo, the 25-year-old Frenchman took revenge on the German Christian Reitz, who had beaten him five years ago and offered the French delegation his sixth gold medal.
Equitation. The French eventing team, gold medalist in 2016 at the Rio Games, took bronze on Monday behind Great Britain and Australia, bringing France their 23rd medal since the start of the Games. Ninth at the end of the dressage, Nicolas Touzaint, Karim Laghouag and Christopher Six moved up to third place after the cross. They kept their position after the show jumping.
Athletics. Launched in the quest of an insane treble 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, the Dutch Sifan Hassan succeeded in the first stage of her incredible bet by being crowned Olympic champion of 5,000 meters Monday in Tokyo. At 28, she disgusted her rivals in a final round swallowed like a rocket, crossing the line in 14′36 ″ 79. Hassan was not the first feat of arms of the day: in the morning she had achieved the feat of winning her series of 1,500 meters despite a big fall on the last lap.
Disappointments
Gymnastic. Samir Aït Saïd’s Olympic dream was shattered Monday at the Ariake Gymnastics Center. The French who was aiming for gold in Japan will return empty-handed after a bicep injury and a fourth place in the rings competition. “Three days ago I heard a click in my biceps. I let go of the direct rings ”, he explained to the microphone of France Televisions at the end of the competition. Before lamenting: “Something always has to happen to me …” Read our review.
Football. Beaten at the start of the tournament by the Swedes, the Americans, in search of a fifth Olympic title (after the victories of 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012), lost Monday in the semifinals against Canada (0-1) . Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan’s team will have to make do with the small final against Australia on Thursday. The Canadians will play the title Friday against Sweden, Olympic champion in Rio. The American selection, double reigning world champion, has never completely convinced in Tokyo.
Program: in Tokyo, it’s already tomorrow
Athletics. In the 400-meter hurdles, the announced duel between the Norwegian Karsten Warholm and the American Rai Benjamin is seen as one of the most exciting races of the Tokyo Games. Warholm broke on July 1 the old world record of the American Kevin Young (46 ″ 78), set in the final of the Barcelona Games in 1992: 46 ″ 70. Benjamin closed the deal in 46 ″ 83. Third stopwatch in history. Two men under 47 seconds the same year, world athletics had never known such richness. The final is scheduled for Tuesday at 5:20 am Read the presentation of the race by our specialist in Tokyo.
The pole vault competition, in the absence of the American Sam Kendricks, contaminated by the Covid-19, will mark at 12:20 the first Olympic final of the Swedish Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, holder of the world record. The only French competitor on the saltire, Renaud Lavillenie knows music. Gold medalist in London, silver in Rio, he arrived in Tokyo “Without the duty to succeed”. Read our interview with the pole vaulter.
Gymnastic. Simone Biles had created a surprise by renouncing the individual and collective general competitions. The American gymnastics superstar had since withdrawn from several other events, but announced his participation in the beam final, scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Quarter-finals. The French men’s handball, basketball and volleyball teams, which all came out of the group stage with more or less ease, play the rest of their Olympic career on Tuesday in a cleaver match. Handball opens the ball at 2:30 am against Bahrain. The basketball players will follow at 10:20 am against Italy and the volleyball players at 2:30 pm against the Polish favorites.
The sides
Asylum. Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is “safe” in Japan and was seen at the Polish embassy on Monday. Warsaw offered him a humanitarian visa. Her husband confirmed to AFP that she wanted to go to Poland. On Sunday, the sprinter explained that her federation had tried to force her to leave Japan. At the heart of the case, the criticisms of the young athlete against the sports authorities of the country of Alexander Lukashenko.
Historical. New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first transgender athlete to compete in an Olympic competition on Monday at age 43. His participation causes a lot of noise and divides both fans and athletes. Assigned male at birth, Laurel Hubbard took part in men’s competitions before beginning a transition process towards her 30 years. She subsequently became selectable for women after meeting the International Olympic Committee’s criteria for transgender athletes. Read our article.
Agit-Prop. New Olympic runner-up in the shot put, the American Raven Saunders, who has lived through a deep depression in recent years, posed on the podium crossed fists above her head in support of the oppressed. The IOC, which prohibits militant gestures on the podiums, announced Monday that it was studying the case. Before the start of the competitions, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that athletes could now express themselves on political or societal issues when addressing the media, before and after their competition, during team meetings. or on social networks. On the other hand, the ban on protesting both on the podiums and on sports grounds has been maintained. Read our article.
Knitting. The Briton Tom Daley, gold medalist in synchronized diving in Tokyo, attended the finals of the 3-meter diving individual on Sunday and Monday with needles in hand and a ball of wool on his knees. The image shared on social networks has given worldwide visibility to this LGBT + icon, already a star across the Channel. Read our article.
The return of the heroes
A few days after winning medals in Tokyo, a slew of French athletes was celebrated in Paris on Monday for their return to France. A well-deserved walkabout after the Games behind closed doors. Read our report.
Medal table
With the gold of Jean Quiquampoix and the bronze of the riders in eventing, France has at this stage 23 medals: six in gold (the shooter Jean Quiquampoix, the French men’s foil team, the swordsman Romain Cannone in fencing , the mixed team and Clarisse Agbégnénou in judo and the duo Matthieu Androdias-Hugo Boucheron in rowing), ten in silver (swimmer Florent Manaudou, judokas Amandine Buchard, Sarah-Léonie Cysique and Madeleine Malonga, windsurfers Charline Picon and Thomas Goyard, the French women’s foil team, the French women’s saber team, the French rugby sevens team and the rowers Laura Tarantola and Claire Bové) and seven in bronze (the eventing riders, the judokas Teddy Riner, Romane Dicko and Luka Mkheidze, the mixed triathlon team, the taekwondist Althéa Laurin, the fencer Manon Brunet). In the medal table, dominated by China (29 gold medals), the United States (22) and Japan (17), France remains in seventh place.
Chronicle “in the Olympic bubble”
In Tokyo for the Games, our special correspondent Romain Métairie tells the story of adventure within adventure. On the 16th day, he finally gets off in the metro.
The Games according to Earvin Ngapeth
The receptionist-attacker of the French volleyball team opens his logbook for “Libé” during the Olympic Games. To read here.
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