Loana Lecomte won the Beaupré World Cup in Quebec in October. Photo Sipa/Jacques Boissinot/AP
In the wake of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, France can boast of having two world-class athletes. Loana Lecomte, 24, is gradually making her place at the highest level, recently taking part in the September mountain bike test event.
Before that, the Annécienne had taken silver at the World Championships in Glasgow last summer for a French double with “PFP” a year after her European title in Munich in front of her compatriot and best rival. With an already well-stocked track record and still some room for improvement, this is all reason to follow the rise of the Frenchwoman, who still has some nice surprises in store for us from 2024.
Sasha Zhoya improved further at the Budapest Worlds with his finalist place, after falling in the semi-finals in 2022. Photo Sipa/STADION-ACTU
His name has been on everyone’s lips since he decided to represent France in international competition: Sasha Zhoya. The 21-year-old hurdle specialist, already a junior world record holder in the 60m hurdles (7”34) and 110m hurdles (12”72, on 0.99m hurdles, editor’s note), never stops more to add to his list of achievements, at least among young people. After his European and world titles among juniors, he offered himself that of European hopeful this summer before flying to the World Championships in Budapest.
>> Also read: Zhoya and Doucouré, a foolproof duo
The double French champion in the 110m hurdles reached the final, a year after his fall in the semi-finals in Eugene, with a nice 6th place and above all a new personal best (13”15). Things are slowly falling into place for Ladji Doucouré’s protégé who could take advantage of the Olympic crowd to shine.
Coline Devillard was still a world finalist in Antwerp. Photo Sipa/Geert vanden Wijngaert/AP
The 23-year-old gymnast continues to assert herself as the French vault specialist after her two European titles (2017 and 2022). At the World Championships in Antwerp (Belgium), the dynamic tricolor arrived slightly injured a year after her bronze medal, but that did not prevent her from qualifying for the final of her favorite apparatus, and from participating in the historic French team bronze medal. With his World Cup victories in Doha and Baku, Devillard continues his rise with the culmination of the Paris Games.
Antoine Dupont is taking on a new challenge this year with his selection for the French sevens rugby team for the Olympics. Photo Sipa/JEE
Antoine Dupont really needs no introduction. The 27-year-old scrum-half is launching a new challenge after the elimination of the French the season and will therefore compete in international events with a new team.
The three-time French champion with Stade Toulouse (2019, 2021, 2023), captain of the French XV, is considered one of the best players of his generation due to his complete style of play. His contribution to rugby sevens will therefore be closely scrutinized this year.
Joséphine Pagnier has already made French ski jumping history by taking the lead in the World Cup rankings. Photo Sipa/Urs Flueeler/AP
Joséphine Pagnier (ski jumping)
She is one of the revelations of the end of 2023 and will therefore be expected for the rest of the ski jumping season. Joséphine Pagnier, 21, took the lead in the World Cup rankings after her three podiums in less than two weeks.
The young tricolor brought France its first World Cup victory in 10 years and Coline Mattel in Sapporo (Japan), in February 2013. She even repeated her feat in Engelberg in Switzerland on December 15, securing the 4th podium. of her career.
Arthur Fils was named “revelation of the year” by the ATP for his dazzling season. Photo Sipa/CHRISTOPHE SAIDI
Arthur Son (tennis)
Arthur Fils was the author of a dazzling season on the ATP circuit this year. Having gone from 251st place at the start of the year to 36th at its peak in October, the 19-year-old tennis player has made his name stand out in the eyes of all tennis specialists, but not only that.
He was even awarded the title of “revelation of the year” by the ATP for his career. The French prodigy won his first title on the circuit in Lyon by beating the Italian Francisco Cerundolo in the final, making him the youngest champion in 2023. He also became the youngest Frenchman to win an ATP title since Gaël Monfils in 2005 in Sopot.
Son ended the season in style with a final in Antwerp, a prestigious victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals, and a final at the Next Gen ATP Masters, a first for a French player, beaten by the Serbian Hamad Medjedovic. 2024 therefore promises to be the year of confirmation for the French tennis player.
Barring any incidents, Shirine Boukli will be part of the selection for Paris-2024. Photo Sipa/Nikola Krstic/Shutterstock
Shirine Boukli (judo)
She has already made her mark at the highest level in the world. Shirine Boukli, 24, specialist in -48 kg, is already triple European champion (2020, 2022, 2023) and vice-world champion in 2023, beaten in the final by the Japanese Natsumi Tsunoda, title holder.
The Frenchwoman is regularly ranked well in the Grand Slams but there remains one failure in her young career that she would like to erase. The judoka, although among the favorites for final victory in Tokyo, was eliminated in the first round of the last Olympics, her biggest disappointment to date. Enough to approach the year 2024 with vengeance, since it has already been selected for Paris.
Lenny Martinez had a very promising first professional season. Photo Sipa/SOPA Images
Lenny Martinez (cycling)
Lenny Martinez embodies the future of French cycling. The 20-year-old Groupama-FDJ rider had a promising first professional season, culminating in the Tour of Spain leader’s red jersey worn for two days. Martinez took 2nd place in the 6th stage of the Vuelta, enough to secure him the leadership position on the evening of August 31. He also became the second youngest cyclist to wear a leader’s jersey on one of the three Grand Tours at 20 years and 51 days, behind Henri Cornet in the 1904 Tour de France.
His season was also and above all marked by a first victory at the summit of Mont Ventoux in June in front of many experienced climbers, and he has already shown on the Tour de Catalunya (12th) or the Critérium du Dauphiné (18th) that he could compete with the best. Enough to make his grandfather Mariano, best climber in the Tour de France in 1978, or his father, Olympic champion and world mountain bike champion in 2000, proud. 2024 will surely only be the continuation of what he has already acquired.
At 18, Mary-Ambre Moluh asserts herself as the future of French swimming. Photo Sipa/Insidefoto
Mary-Ambre Moluh (swimming)
Mary-Ambre Moluh embodies the future of French swimming. The 18-year-old swimmer took advantage of the European short course championships in early December to reach her first international podium. The backstroke specialist finished 3rd in the 100m backstroke in 57”10, a personal best, behind the Dutch Kira Toussaint (55”88).
She had already won the title of French champion in the 50m backstroke in 2022 and had already performed among young people (silver in the 100m and 4x100m medley of the 2021 Junior Europe).
Rafael Savin (fencing)
At 23, Rafaël Savin is gradually finding a place in the French foil team. The youngest of the Blues won a bronze medal for his first participation in a major championship at the European Championships in Plovdiv (Bulgaria). He tried to repeat his feat at the World Championships in Milan (Italy), but was finally eliminated in the round of 16.
But the main thing is elsewhere for the young fencer, former world number one among juniors, who allows the French foil fencers to perform as collectively, as last December at the World Cup in Tokoname (Japan).
