This is the last chance meeting for the French wrestlers to be able to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Twelve wrestlers are on deck from this Thursday and until Sunday during this Olympic Qualification Tournament (TQO) world in Istanbul (Turkey). They will have to finish on the podium in their category to win their precious Olympic sesame.
Who will join Koumba Larroque and Mamadassa Sylla, the only two wrestlers to have so far won their ticket to the Olympics? The first qualified thanks to her bronze medal at the last World Championships in Belgrade (Serbia) last September and the second during the European TQO in Baku (Azerbaijan) last month.
The wrestlers who participated in the first TQO in Baku were all renewed with the exception of Ibrahim Ghanem, reigning world champion in the -72 kg Greco-Roman, non-Olympic category. The latter took advantage of Johnny Bur’s resignation for personal reasons during the last TQO to take the place in -77 kg Greco-Roman but he lost in the first round.
To determine the identity of the wrestler participating in the Istanbul TQO, the Blues staff then organized a test match between the two fighters. Emerging as the winner, Ibrahim Ghanem finally gave up because he suffered a concussion during a preparation camp in Hungary last week. Johnny Bur will therefore replace him.
Amélie Douarre and Pauline Lecarpentier have a great card to play
In freestyle wrestling, the fighters went to training in the United States before finishing their preparation at Insep. Zelimkhan Khadjiev returns after four years of suspension for doping. The former junior world champion, who participated in the Rio Olympics in 2016, will try to qualify for Paris in -74 kg.
Among the women, who left for training in Japan last week, Amélie Douarre in -62 kg and Pauline Lecarpentier in -76 kg have a good card to play. In Baku, they missed Olympic qualification by a hair by losing in the semi-final. The Greco-Roman competition will take place on Thursday and Friday, the women’s competition on Friday and Saturday and the freestyle competition on Saturday and Sunday.
“This last TQO will be very tough because all the continents are represented,” announces Yvon Riemer, the general manager of the Paris 2024 unit. The small chance is to be able to lose a match and be drafted with the opportunity to win a bronze medal and therefore qualify for the Olympics. The objective is to obtain an Olympic qualification by style (Greco-Roman, freestyle and women’s). We have the potential, but we will have to be at our best on the day of the competition and also have a little luck in the draw. In this kind of competition, there are always surprises. » It’s up to the Tricolores to take advantage of it.
The list of selected
Feminine. -50 kg: Julie Sabatié, -53 kg: Tatiana Debien, -57 kg: Mathilde Rivière, -62 kg: Ameline Douarre, -76 kg: Pauline Lecarpentier.
Greco-Roman. -60 kg: Léo Tudezca, -67 kg: Mamadassa Sylla, -77 kg: Johnny Bur (Ibrahim Ghanem).
Libre. -57 kg : Ilman Mukhtarov, -65 kg : Khamzat Arsamerzouev, -74 kg : Zelimkhan Khadjiev, -86 kg : Rakhim Magamadov, -97 kg : Adlan Viskhanov.
