It almost becomes a tradition. In Tokyo, the decathlete Kevin Mayer had already put on his superhero cape, the only Olympic medalist for the France team. A year later, at the Worlds in Eugene (Oregon), it was again he who obtained, on the last day, Sunday July 24, the only medal of the Blues.
At Worldthe world record holder warned: “You will not have to count on me to start the dynamic. I am at the end of the program. » Failing that, Mayer’s gold medal avoids the humiliation of a point zero.
This is one of the worst results since the creation of the Worlds in 1983. For this first, the French athletes had returned fanny from Finland. A poor performance repeated ten years later in Stuttgart. In Doha in 2019, the Blues won two medals, silver and bronze. In Eugene, French athletics remains far from the five world medals in London in 2017 or the Olympic fireworks in Rio and its six medals in 2016.
This is not the opinion of Romain Barras, director of high performance with the French Athletics Federation (FFA), who speaks of“a very positive outcome. » The ex-decathlete develops: “I find that we found a French team in terms of character. People approached the podiums. We are two years old [jusqu’à Paris 2024]. This is the beginning of an adventure and drawing conclusions is premature. »
Russian mountains
At the Tokyo Olympics, Kevin Mayer fought against two formidable opponents: his great Canadian rival Damian Warner and intense back pain. Both had disappeared this time. Warner, ultra-favorite, was injured on Saturday in the 400m. This abandonment opened the doors to the title despite the resistance of the Canadian Pierce LePage (2e) and the American Zachary Ziemek (3e). The Montpellier, winner with 8,816 points, was the first to be convinced: “It opens up a avenue for me that I didn’t have to be world champion. » After the fulfillment of his prophecy, he confessed to a bit of bluff: “I wasn’t as confident as I told you. It is an enormous pride to succeed in these conditions. »
The day before, it was with a strap on the Achilles tendon that Kevin Mayer had entered the stadium. A reminder of a pain – another one – that had crippled him all season. A poor competition in the shot put (14.98 m) almost cost him the title. He complains to his new coach, Alexandre Bonacorsi: “I can’t do it”. “I have been in a haze since my arrival. I may have had indigestion. At night, I sleep badlyhe says after the first day. I did 16.22 meters in training. I did worse than at the Olympics when my back was blocked. »
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