three months before the Paris Games, mixed results for the Blues at the Kobe world championships – Libération

During the competition in Japan which took place from May 18 to 25, the French delegation, in small numbers, won three medals. Wheelchair sprinter Pierre Fairbank was crowned twice, and shot putter Soane Meissonnier won a silver medal.

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To take the temperature. His own and that of the competition. This was the main objective for the French athletes during these world para-athletics championships which took place in Kobe, Japan from May 17 to 25, 2024. A little less than 100 days before the start of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games – which will take place from August 28 to September 8 – part of the elite world para-athletics in disabled sports (for athletes suffering from a motor or sensory disability) and adapted sport (reserved for athletes with mental or psychological disabilities ), was gathered in the land of the rising sun.

The French delegation, like many other nations, traveled to Japan in reduced numbers, with only fourteen athletes sent – ​​eleven in disabled sports, and three in adapted sports. Some posters, already qualified for the Paris Games, had preferred to skip: Charles-Antoine Kouakou (Paralympic champion in Tokyo, in the T20 category, reserved for the intellectually disabled), the blind sprinters Timothée Adolphe and Trésor Makunda or even one of the first torchbearers on French soil, Nantenin Keïta, avoided the round trip to the other side of the globe to concentrate on their preparation.

Global break-in

After a week of competition, the Blues’ tally reached three medals, two gold and one silver. It is in particular the veteran, Pierre Fairbank, 52 years old, who excelled with two coronations in 400m and 800m in the T53 category, reserved for paraplegic athletes. The New Caledonian, who sprints with the strength of his arms and shoulders on a chair, is a regular on the world circuit. Present on numerous occasions on the podiums in recent decades, his first world championship title dates back to the last century, in 1998. With this performance in Kobe, he automatically validates his qualification for the Games this summer. His compatriot Soane Meissonnier also got himself a ticket to Paris with his second place in shot put in the F20 category (intellectual disability) and a throw of 15m92 during his last attempt on Tuesday May 21. In the general ranking, China is well ahead with 87 medals, including 33 gold. It is followed at a distance by Brazil and its 42 charms. Uzbekistan places itself on the last step of the podium with seven gold medals for thirteen podiums.

For the French, the results of this global run-in are mixed. On paper, the general performance is better than last year during the world championships in France at the Charléty stadium, where the Blues won four bronze medals. But in Kobe, some may harbor frustrations. Sprinter Dimitri Jozwicki, suffering from motor disability, missed the podium by three hundredths of a second during his 100m final in the T38 category. Another disappointment for Manon Genest, who did not manage to repeat her great performance from Charléty and a personal best at 4m76. Sixth in her competition on Saturday May 18 with a mark of 4m35, the 31-year-old athlete regrets in her logbook, which she keeps for Libé, of not having succeeded “in expressing herself fully”. “We know that I was capable of doing much better. During the warm-up, my jumps were better than during the competition. There is something else to work on. I need to improve to be more calm on the day of the Games,” she analyzed a few days after her poor performance with a clear head. Finally, the multi-medalist Paralympic winner and face of the recent communication campaign to encourage supporters to buy their tickets for this summer, Arnaud Assoumani, failed to shine. With a mark of 6m90, the 38-year-old Frenchman placed sixth in his competition, 35cm from the podium.

Next event for para-athletes: the Paris Handisport Open which will take place on June 13 at the Charléty stadium in Paris. It will mark the last international gathering before the long-awaited Games at the end of August, organized at the Stade de France for the athletics events.