At ‘half-time,’ France has already reaped a historic medal collection – Technologist

It was a historic first week. Forty-four medals after nine days: France had never made such a prolific start to an Olympic Games. Not since the post-war period has the country had so many podium finishes in a single edition.

One day after the halfway point, Les Bleus have already exceeded their total in Beijing (2008), where they won 43 medals, but only seven in gold. The record number of titles, at Atlanta 1996 (15), is now within reach, even if the second week of the competition promises to be less golden for Les Bleus, with athletics their Achilles’ heel.

The goal of reaching the top 5 in the ranking of nations, set by President Emmanuel Macron prior to the Games, seems more attainable than ever. In Tokyo, in 2021, it was Russia – mostly absent from Paris – that occupied fifth position, with 71 medals, 20 of them gold. Unthinkable just a few months ago, the prospect of finishing on the podium, behind the unmatchable Chinese and American delegations, is no longer a pipe dream.

We’re “only at half-time,” warned Claude Onesta, the head of high performance at the French National Sports Agency, on Sunday, August 4. But he was not worried. On the first day of the Games, “85 medal potentials” had been identified; by the evening of Friday, August 2, 36 “potentialities” out of 43 had materialized.

In the second week, France will be able to count on track cycling and team sports to swell its stock of gold. Unless they meet the same fate as rowing, which returns home with a historic zero score.

“We shouldn’t dramatize the failure, but there will be evaluations carried out in all the federations within two months of the Games,” said Onesta. For the moment, French sports officials are savoring the moment. “The results are already exceptional,” said David Lappartient, the president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF). He did not hesitate to predict a total of over 70 medals at the end of the Games.

Judo brings the most medals

There were tears – those of Madeleine Malonga (-78 kg) and Romane Dicko (+78 kg) – and joy: French judo had an emotional week. The final day of competition, on Saturday, August 3, was marked by a comeback win in the final of the mixed team event against Japan.

Trailing 1-3, Les Bleus went on to record three straight victories, thanks to Joan-Benjamin Gaba, Clarisse Agbégnénou and Teddy Riner, who was drawn at random for the tie-breaking fight. The French team ended the week on a high note, after Riner’s gold medal (+100 kg), his third individual title.

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