Pantheon the French Olympic Highlights

Roland - roland.benedetti@gmail.com

The medal tracker

Dramatic Basketball finals opposed France and USA men and women.

After a slow start, the French team started to pick some pace, by beating it’s French-speaking opponent.The basketball relationship between France and Canada can be traced back to international competitions like the FIBA World Cup and the Olympic Games. Both nations have been basketball powerhouses in their respective regions—France in Europe and Canada in North America. Their early encounters were sporadic, primarily taking place in global tournaments where both teams sought to make their mark on the international stage.

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Judo’s master Teddy Riner

Early Life and Introduction to Judo

Teddy Riner was born in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, and moved to metropolitan France with his family at a young age. He began practicing judo at the age of five, influenced by his family's interest in the sport. His natural talent and physical attributes quickly set him apart, and he joined the prestigious Parisian club, Levallois Sporting Club, where his skills were honed under the guidance of top coaches.

Rise to Prominence

Riner's rise in the world of judo was meteoric. He won his first significant title at the age of 18, capturing the gold medal in the +100 kg category at the 2007 World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro. This victory made him the youngest ever world champion in his weight class, signaling the beginning of his dominance in the sport.

Dominance in Judo

Teddy Riner's career is marked by an unparalleled level of success. He has won a record ten World Championship gold medals (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2023), solidifying his status as one of the greatest judokas of all time. In addition to his world titles, Riner has also secured multiple European Championship gold medals.

His Olympic achievements are equally impressive. Riner won his first Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games, followed by another gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. He also earned a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, adding to his illustrious Olympic career.

Style and Technique

Riner's judo style is characterized by his exceptional strength, agility, and tactical intelligence. Standing at 2.04 meters and weighing 130 kg, his physical presence is intimidating, but it is his technical prowess and strategic approach that have made him nearly unbeatable. Riner is known for his powerful throws, particularly his uchi mata (inner thigh throw) and seoi nage (shoulder throw), which he executes with remarkable precision.

Beyond the Mat

Beyond his achievements in judo, Teddy Riner is a prominent figure in the sports world and an ambassador for judo globally. He is known for his sportsmanship, humility, and dedication to promoting the values of judo, such as respect, discipline, and perseverance. Riner is also involved in various charitable activities and uses his platform to inspire young athletes.

Surfing in Paris

The decision to host the surfing events for the Paris 2024 Olympics in Tahiti, over 15,000 kilometers from Paris, is driven by several key reasons:

Firstly, Tahiti is renowned for its world-class waves, especially at Teahupo'o, which offers some of the best and most challenging surfing conditions globally. This location provides consistent and reliable waves, ensuring top-notch competition for the athletes.

Additionally, choosing Tahiti highlights and celebrates French Polynesian culture. Surfing has deep roots in Polynesia, making it a culturally significant spot for the event.

From a practical standpoint, Tahiti has the necessary infrastructure to host such a large event, including accommodations and facilities for athletes and spectators.

Environmental concerns also play a role; holding the event in Tahiti helps preserve the natural state of French beaches, which might face environmental stress from the influx of an Olympic-scale event.

Lastly, this decision enhances the global appeal of the Olympics by spreading events across different regions, emphasizing the international spirit of the Games and showcasing diverse parts of France's territories. Overall, Tahiti is an ideal and symbolic choice for Olympic surfing.

Marchand de Rêves

For three-quarters of the 200m butterfly event, Frenchman Leon Marchand was trailing Hungarian Kristóf Milák. And then on the final lap as he pushed off the wall on the turn, Marchand disappeared. The joyously parochial and raucous French crowd held its breath. Milak’s head had bobbed out of water and he was snaking his way towards the finish line, when suddenly Marchand emerged from his long game-turning move under water. The crowd began to holler as they realised that their 22-year-old swimming superstar was about to overtake his opponent.

“I could hear the whole pool going crazy. I think that’s why I was able to win that race. I really used that energy from the crowd,” Marchand would say after completing the heist.

Of the many significant features of this Olympics, nothing comes close to the sheer unadulterated joy of the French crowd and their relationship with Marchand. The burden on the swimmer to collect a bagful of gold almost rivalled Sachin Tendulkar’s. To quench their thirst and live up to his own dreams, Marchand had to go where no man has gone before.

Evenpoel doubles on picturesque road race

With a jaw-dropping display of pure power, speed, and a perfectly timed attack, Remco Evenepoel won the men’s 2024 Olympic road race and completed a historic time trial/road race gold medal double after riding clear of an elite group of favorites on the picturesque yet chaotic Parisian city circuit.

Behind him, the French duo of Valentin Madouas and Christophe Laporte pulled off the impressive feat of filling out the remaining podium places, with Madouas just barely holding on after being dropped by Evenepoel’s winning assault and Laporte working over the chase group behind in the slow-speed sprint.

I’ve broken down the key takeaways from the memorable race through the streets of Paris below.

Paris Olympic Road Race 2024 Top 10
1) Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) +0
2) Valentin Madouas (France) +1’11
3) Christophe Laporte (France) +1’16
4) Attila Valter (Hungary) +1’16
5) Toms Skujiņš (Latvia) +1’16
6) Marco Haller (Austria) +1’16
7) Stefan Küng (Switzerland) +1’16
8) Jan Tratnik (Slovenia) +1’16
9) Matteo Jorgenson (United States) +1’16
10) Ben Healy (Ireland) +1’20

Race Notebook

270km-128.4km to go: With such a long course and small field, the teams of the favorites let an early breakaway go up the road and build up a massive advantage before putting key riders on the front to chisel the gap back down after roughly 100kms of racing. In between, a chase group, including Ireland’s Ryan Mullen, clearly a satellite rider for an eventual Ben Healy attack, are bridging up to the front. Notably, the four-rider French team is sitting back and refusing to use precious resources at this point, while the three-rider Dutch team uses a key rider, Dan Hoole.

88km: As the race enters the outskirts of Paris, Alexey Lutsenko attacks, realizing that everyone but the ultra-top tier favorites will need to get in front of the race before they enter the city circuit. He is followed by Healy, whose teammate Mullen is now just 90 seconds up the road and sitting up to wait for Healy.

67.4km: Remco Evenepoel unleashes one of a handful of early attacks on a flat section of road through a feed zone. He is quickly marked by USA’s Matteo Jorgenson and a handful of others, but this is likely just an attempt to soften up the group and gauge how much strength the thin Dutch team still has at this point.

60km: After entering Paris, with Ben Healy still pushing 30 seconds off the front, Germany’s Nils Politt takes advantage of the pace, finally coming off on the front by ripping clear with a strong attack.

59.3km: Back in the peloton, the still-slow pace allows riders to stream across the gap. Eventually, a strong group, including France’s Valentin Madouas and Switzerland’s Stefan Küng, formed. Belgium gets back on the front to control the gap, but with no representation in the front group and only a fatigued Tiesj Benoot left to set the pace, this is a precarious situation for the race’s dominant team.

46km: When they hit the cobbled climb of Butte Montmartre, with Healy still solo, the peloton 40 seconds behind the strong chase group, and Belgium having no domestiques left to reel in them, Mathieu van der Poel attacks and is immediately followed by Wout Van Aert and a small group of elite riders who ride clear.

38.6km: This escape group, which is mainly being driven by Van der Poel and Jorgenson, is eventually reeled in by Mads Pedersen, who missed it due to an ill-timed flat, with the peloton following closely behind. Notably, France’s Julian Alaphilippe was able to mark the move and sit on to de-incentivize the chase for his teammate Madouas.

38km: As soon as the groups combine, with Van der Poel sitting near the front marking Van Aert, Remco Evenepoel sees the perfect opportunity and launches a perfectly timed attack.

38km: Unlike his previous attacks, Evenepoel’s move immediately opens up significant daylight due to the group being gassed from the just-completed chase. Evenepoel is able to quickly bridge up to the chase group, which is now just 11 seconds ahead, while Healy is still impressively alone on the front.

27.8km: On the second pass of Butte Montmartre, with Evenepoel ripping through the front groups and the peloton now 45 seconds behind him, Van der Poel attacks again. However, he is again closely marked by Van Aert, who refuses to pull through due to his ‘teammate’ being up the road. At this point, with Evenepoel off the front, Van der Poel unable to shake Van Aert, and Van Aert showing he is here to support his national team, the race is essentially over.

21.5km: Up front, after hurricane Evenepoel has ripped through the groups, the only rider remaining on his wheel is Madouas. Even though Madouas is sitting behind Evenepoel, the difference in the two riders’ aerodynamic positions means that Madouas is struggling to get a draft. With 44 seconds on the Van der Poel peloton and knowing he can drop Madouas at will, Evenepoel has settled into a relatively controlled pace.

15km: On the next climb up to the top of the course in Montmartre, Evenepoel simply turns up the pace and leaves Madouas in his wake. Madouas, to his credit, realizes resistance is futile and immediately sits down to focus on keeping his own pace high in an attempt to hold off the chase behind to salvage a medal placing.

3.8km: Heading through the Louvre and toward the finish along the Seine, Evenepoel suffers an extremely ill-timed flat time, which sets off a panicked bike change. While he has 1’31 on the peloton and 1’15 on Madouas (who is still fighting to hold off the chase), Evenepoel has no way of knowing his lead is relatively safe due to the lack of race radios.

Finish: After getting back up to speed, Evenepoel crosses the finish line, set spectacularly in front of the Eiffel Tower, and, in true showman fashion, poses for a clearly pre-planned photo-op to celebrate his historic TT/RR double gold performance.

Chase Group Finish: Just over a minute behind, Madouas polishes off an incredible ride to hold on for silver, while his French teammate, Christophe Laporte, who has marked Matteo Jorgenson’s attempts to bridge across through the final few laps, wins the sprint for third. To highlight the chaos of the race, Laporte, who finished third, didn’t realize he had finished on the podium, while fourth place, Attila Valter, celebrated thinking he had finished third.