Et voilà. At the end of the Mexican wave in the Grand Palais, France had its 16th gold medal in its pocket and Althéa Laurin had hers in taekwondo – the first gold medal for France in this sport. Keyword: La Marseillaise.
Grand Palais, hey hey
The fans gave their all to local hero Althéa Laurin, competing in the women’s over 67 kg category. They stamped and roared up and down, shouting: “Qui ne saute pas n’est pas français, hey! hey!” And even if you don’t understand the words at first, everything becomes clear inside. And the Grand Palais was the fitting setting for the big moment: Laurin’s victory at the expense of Svetlana Osipova of Uzbekistan. It was France’s first gold medal in the sport. And the country’s 16th gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games, surpassing the 15 gold medals won at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Everyone stayed to see 22-year-old Laurin climb onto the podium and get the chance to sing the national anthem.
Kingpin
Well, Laurin, at 22, could be around for a while yet. The same goes for Britain’s Caden Cunningham and Ariane Salimi from Iran. At 21 and 20 respectively, they fought in the Olympic final of the men’s over 80 kg category. Salimi won the fight 2-1. Could we see a Rafael Nadal-Novak Djokovic-style rivalry in tennis? “Perhaps more Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo,” smiled Salimi.
Double miracles
Still a long way to go
Play it anyway
Read more on RFI English
Read also:
Olympic Games 2024 in Paris: Five things we learned on day 10 – Ambition in the leap
Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Five things we learned on Day 7: Léon I – the swimming king
Paris 2024 Olympics: Five things we learned on Day 13 – hugs, bugs and history
