Off the track for the director of high performance at the French Athletics Federation (FFA) who appointed him in January 2020, just after the French fiasco at the 2019 Worlds in Doha (two medals, no title). His goal was to lead the French athletes to success in Tokyo: Florian Rousseau decided to leave his post, a month after the failure of the Blues at the Olympic Games organized in the Japanese capital, announced the FFA on Wednesday September 15th.
“Although I was disappointed with the results in Tokyo [une médaille, aucun titre], which could have been better, I am satisfied with the results of the youngsters and the other actions implemented around the France team. Today, I achieved my mission and I knew, when I accepted, that it would be a real challenge, and it was! “, the three-time Olympic track cycling champion said in a statement.
Results crisis
This departure comes in a context of crisis of results for the federation. After the 2019 world championships, the FFA decided to reorganize the high level with the departure of the national technical director Patrice Gergès and the appointment of Florian Rousseau as high performance director.
In the aftermath of the catastrophic Olympics for the Blues, the president of the FFA, André Giraud, had recognized that the reorganization of the high level had not “Not yet completed” ; he had promised “Changes in a month”, while maintaining Florian Rousseau. The FFA explains in its press release that, “Following this announcement”, she will do “Soon part of the new organization that will be put in place. “