Twenty years of waiting but no more. France was waiting to qualify for the final phase of the Paralympic Games in wheelchair basketball. This hasn’t happened since 2004 and the Athens Paralympics. And it’s done! Ninth in the World Championships last June and seventh in the European Championships in August, the French had to go through the Paralympic qualifying tournament in Antibes where the last four tickets to Paris were in the running. And by winning this Monday against Morocco (87-60), the Blues, now coached by Franck Bornerand and Steven Caine (silver medalist in this same event in Atlanta in 1996 with Great Britain, and recently arrived in the staff as assistant coach), won the precious sesame.
Historically, the host country was automatically qualified for the Games, but not for this 2024 edition. The Paralympic committee and the International Federation decided to reduce the number of participants in order to have a “high intensity” and “high intensity” competition. matches at the highest level,” Jérôme Rosenthiel, basketball and wheelchair basketball manager for Paris 2024, said during a press briefing. Thus, only 8 teams (compared to 12 in Tokyo in 2021) will participate in this Olympic tournament.
The Blues met last week in Spain for a preparation tournament to work on their game strategies. An investment that paid off since, throughout the weekend on the Côte d’Azur, France gained momentum. Winners in turn of Iran, Canada and the Netherlands, the French finished first in their Pool B. Everything remained to be decided in a match against the Moroccans. In the first period, France quickly took control and gained around twenty points in advance. A nest egg that then had to be kept after rest. And with calm and intelligence, the French managed their emotions perfectly. With, at the buzzer, 27 points in advance. And immense joy.
Organized, like the basketball final phases during the Olympic Games, at the Arena Bercy (Paris 12th), the matches will be held from August 29 to September 8. And with such a displayed state of mind, the quest for a medal does not seem utopian.
