And one more medal in the purse of the French delegation at the Games, the 7th, and it is bronze. In taekwondo (+67 kg), Althéa Laurin won the fight for 3rd place against the Ivorian Aminata-Charlène Traoré, to win her first Olympic medal at 19 years old.
The licensee of the Asnières-sur-Seine club was stopped by the Serbian, seeded number 3, Milica Mandic in the semi-final. But she recovered well in this small final for bronze.
Althéa Laurin had started the match badly, touched from the start by the Ivorian and led on points. But she reacted magnificently in the next two rounds, hitting her opponent several times, exhausted at the end of the fight.
The Frenchwoman, seeded number 10, could legitimately claim this medal after a remarkable start to the tournament. In the quarter-finals, the French had already been impressive against the Chinese Shuyin Zheng, the reigning Olympic champion. A calm and precise victory (14-6) as the Frenchwoman competed in her very first Olympic Games.
“It’s quite rare to get an Olympic medal at that age! »
“I am delighted to be an Olympic medalist, it’s an honor,” reacted Althéa Laurin at the microphone of France 3. “I came to get the gold medal, I’m going to be delighted with the bronze, it’s rather rare. Olympic medal at that age! “. The young taekwondo player paid tribute to Gwladys Epangue, bronze medalist in Beijing in 2008. “It is an honor to be able to follow in her footsteps. Gwladys gave me advice before the competition and was able to find the words to re-motivate me after the semi-final,” explained Althéa Laurin.
At almost 20 years old, next September, the tricolor will collect a beautiful bronze medal and is already setting a date for Paris 2024.
