Despite meticulous final preparation, Margot Chevrier (23) experienced a slightly less fluid start than expected, Friday morning in pole vault qualifications. After a very complicated warm-up, the Niçoise attacked at 4.45m, forcing herself to jump well from the start, and it worked from the first try. At 4.55m, she suffered two failures before finding the right settings and moving on to the last attempt, which allowed her to qualify for the final.
« I wasn’t afraid of not qualifying, I knew it was going to pass. On the other hand, I scared myself four strides before jumping because I was super far, like when I did 4.70 last summer, but I went anyway. And it’s one of the best jumps of the last ten years. I kind of wanted us to be nine to do 4.65 m, but there were eight of us, so it will be for tomorrow. I really want to jump, everything is falling into place. “His girlfriends Ninon Chapelle (4.45 m) and Marie-Julie Bonnin (4.30 m) did not pass the course.
Konaté alone survivor
One in three is also the price for long jumpers, competing from 7:10 a.m. French time. Only Erwan Konaté got out of these qualifications with a last jump at 7.93 m after two unsuccessful attempts. All struggled to find their marks, and Jules Pommery, bronze medalist at the Euro in Munich last summer, scored zero. ” I’m disappointed, but not even surprised, it’s like the season since the beginning of February, because of food poisoning at Insep. “A glitch in the ankle during the warm-up of the Ostrava meeting, just after the intoxication, also hampered his preparation.
Jean-Pierre Bertrand, the third jumper, blamed himself for having only ” assured » a jump to 7.60 m on the last attempt. ” The track is difficult to grasp. Fast but soft at the same time, it absorbs a lot of shocks. The marks were turned upside down “, explained Konaté, double world junior champion, who will play his first senior final on Saturday.
Biron continues, Warholm and Bol at ease
Gilles Biron qualified for the 400m semi-finals in the afternoon (5:43 p.m. French time) after his series victory in 46″50. Muhammad Kounta missed out (47″55, 22nd time ). The favorite Karsten Warholm wandered in 45 “76. Among the women, Femke Bol was not used with 52 “35, 3rd time. His Polish training colleague Anna Kielbasinska managed the best time (51″77).
Bérénice Cleyet-Merle, who saw her first selection of this caliber, exploded in the 1500m series (4’18 “58, 14th). Léonie Cambours did not live the best morning of her life with a start in the pentathlon well below her expectations. Between her 8″50 over 60m hurdles and 1.71m in height, the Normande was already 117 points behind her personal best established at the French Championships two weeks ago (4603 points ). After the height, defending champion Nafissatou Thiam (8″23, 1.92m) had a narrow lead (34 points) over Poland’s Adrianna Sulek (8″21, 1.89m).
Poland’s Ewa Swoboda dominated the 60m series in 7”11, ahead of Britain’s Daryll Neita (7”14) and Swiss world champion Mujinga Kambundji (7”18).
