French archer Maël Lamouret captured the men’s individual archery title at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, defeating top-seeded Chen Pin-an of Chinese Taipei in the final.
At 17 years old, Lamouret becomes the first French archer to secure an individual gold medal in the history of the event, sportmag reported.
The final took place at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio, which served as the venue for the opening ceremony of the first Youth Olympics held in Africa. Lamouret opened the match with a perfect 30-point set, landing all three arrows in the 10-ring. After splitting the second set and dropping the third, the Frenchman reclaimed the lead with another perfect set to move ahead 5-3, according to sportmag.
The match concluded with a 6-4 victory for Lamouret. In the final set, the Frenchman opened with an 8, but recovered with a 10 to clinch the win after his opponent, Chen, also struggled with an 8 on his final arrow. “It was a dream for me to become an Olympic champion,” Lamouret told France Télévisions.
According to ffta.fr, Lamouret maintained a high level of consistency throughout the tournament, as none of his sets across five matches fell below 28 points. His path to the gold medal included victories over Kouassi Yao of Ivory Coast in the round of 32, followed by wins against Spain’s Rodrigo Palomo Sanchez, Turkey’s Muhammet Gulay, and a 6-2 semifinal win over Egypt’s Ismail Ezzeldin.
Preparation for Los Angeles 2028
Following his success in Dakar, Lamouret’s focus shifts to the senior international circuit. In July, he earned a team gold medal at the European Youth Championships in Rome. He has since joined the INSEP training center in Paris, where he works with the France 2027 collective.
Lamouret is currently part of the French quota group for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, training alongside established archers including Thomas Chirault, Baptiste Addis, and Jean-Charles Valladont, who earned silver in the team event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. His coach for the Youth Games was Jérôme Auraix, ffta.fr reported.
Tournament progression details
| Archer | Semifinal Result | Final Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Maël Lamouret | 6-2 win | Gold |
| Chen Pin-an | 6-4 win | Silver |
| Lee Jiho | 6-4 loss | Bronze |
Maël Lamouret is the first French archer to win an individual gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games.
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