Three white-suited BMX riders embraced and screamed after crossing the end line cut up seconds aside to brush the gold, silver and bronze medals in the identical occasion — a joyous achievement for the host nation of France.
“We had a magical second, all collectively, with the French public and we managed to do one thing distinctive,” stated the gold winner Joris Daudet, celebrating success alongside his two mates and fellow BMX bikers, Sylvain André and Romain Mahieu.
Pushed by the need to win in entrance of a house crowd, France snagged 64 medals, together with 16 golds, through the Video games that ended on Sunday with a closing ceremony scheduled for 9pm native time.
That greater than doubled its tally of 30 in Tokyo 2020, and was higher than the 42 it achieved at Rio 2016; the 32 at London 2012; and the 43 at Beijing 2008, France’s earlier highest whole within the trendy Olympics period.
France completed in fourth place by way of general medals and fifth place when weighted for golds, simply forward of the Netherlands and Nice Britain on that measure. The outcomes met the bold purpose set by President Emmanuel Macron to push France again into the highest 5 after many years of languishing close to the underside of the highest 10.
France’s outperformance is typical of host nations, which profit not solely from dwelling benefit, but additionally from intensified coaching and greater budgets earlier than the competitors. In one of the vital profitable campaigns, the UK boosted coaching budgets for a decade forward of London 2012, leading to a surge within the medal desk to 3rd, behind conventional powerhouses the US and China.
France additionally overhauled the best way it manages its prime athletes by adopting a top-down, nationwide method impressed by the UK. The brand new Agence Nationale du Sport was created and funded with an additional €110mn on prime of the same old state funding in order to centralise experience on all the pieces from diet to information analytics.
Based in 2019, the ANS is led by Claude Onesta, a gruff and completed former handball coach. Onesta directed more money to federations with the best medal potential after which held them accountable for athletes’ outcomes. The transfer was contentious in France, although Onesta didn’t dare go so far as the UK, which cuts off money altogether to weaker sports activities.
The method has paid off. Onesta described the Video games as “an distinctive achievement” for French athletes. “Once we imagined doubling the variety of medals in three years from Tokyo, it appeared inconceivable, however right here we’re,” he stated.
Athletes in sports activities historically sturdy for France, corresponding to fencing, judo and biking, did nicely. The 22-year-old swimmer Léon Marchand grew to become the breakout star in Paris by profitable 4 gold medals, an unprecedented feat for a French athlete at a single Olympics.
Teddy Riner, an skilled judoka and fan favorite, prevailed but once more in his fifth Olympics to win the person gold in his class after which lead the judo workforce to gold.
Workforce sports activities, together with males’s rugby sevens and volleyball, additionally delivered gold, whereas males’s soccer earned silver after the workforce misplaced to Spain within the closing. The lads’s basketball workforce additionally gained silver on Saturday, however was outclassed by a US workforce stuffed with NBA stars corresponding to Stephen Curry, whose run of three-pointers within the closing minutes left French rookie star Victor Wembanyama in tears after the buzzer.
Some French athletes appeared to crack below the stress of competing earlier than raucous dwelling crowds. Two ladies judoka, who had been concentrating on gold medals, gained bronze as an alternative, whereas a promising French pole jumper fell brief in early rounds.
“Some suffered below the heavy expectations,” stated Onesta at a press convention on Sunday. Fifteen finals had been misplaced, leaving the athletes with silver as an alternative of gold, a decrease conversion price than different massive sporting nations, he added.
The US and China stood atop the weighted rankings with 40 gold medals every, adopted by Japan and Australia.
Coming dwelling with 90 medals whole, China shone brightest within the pool the place it gained 12 medals, together with gold and a world file for Pan Zhanle within the males’s 100-metre freestyle. It additionally racked up 11 medals in diving and 10 in capturing.
The People gained 126 medals, pushed by an distinctive exhibiting in athletics, with 34 medals general and 14 golds, together with these gained by sprinters Noah Lyles, Gabby Thomas and the ladies’s dominant 4 x 100 metre relay workforce. The US swimming workforce collected 28 medals, albeit simply eight golds.
Workforce GB has gained 65 medals and 14 golds, together with three in rowing and two in biking, usually sturdy disciplines.
Regardless of scepticism forward of the Olympics, in addition to safety and logistics issues, French followers had been transformed to fervent enthusiasm as quickly because the rain-soaked opening ceremony on the river Seine started.
“At the start we had been fairly anxious in regards to the Video games in Paris,” stated Géraud Taurand, an engineer dwelling within the capital. “But it surely’s wonderful, we’re seeing a wonderful Video games, the athletes are actually unimaginable and [every time] we win a medal it’s like, ‘Oh yeah we’re nonetheless within the prime podium of all of the international locations around the globe.’”
Vincent Petit, a Toulouse resident visiting Paris for the Video games, stated: “Nobody can beat the USA, so we’re simply aiming for some respect.”
Extra information visualisation by Janina Conboye and Cleve Jones
