We know the six French archers who will participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The French Archery Federation (FFTA) revealed its selection this Friday, June 28. Women’s and men’s teams without much surprise since the two French teams, 2024 European champions in Essen (Germany) on May 12, were selected.
Lisa Barbelin: “I feel that France is waiting for us”
At the beginning of June, some of them met up in Loir-et-Cher, for a green break in Sologne, where Jean-Charles Valladont, the iconic French archer, comes to recharge his batteries. 50 days before the Olympic Games, in a gîte in Langon-sur-Cher, the French took the opportunity to shoot a few arrows and, above all, improve collective cohesion. The opportunity for The New Republic to meet these Blues.
On the women’s side, we will have to count on Lisa Barbelin (Archers Riomois), 24, former world number one, also vice-world team champion 2023. In addition to the team title, she was also crowned individual European champion in Essen. During the 2021 Games, Lisa Barbelin was eliminated in the round of 16. “I’m approaching these Games more stressed than those in Tokyo where I was an outsider. This one is different because it’s not easy to do it again. I feel that France is waiting for us.”
100% dedicated to archery before the Olympics
Alongside her, Caroline Lopez (Archers Riomois), also vice-world team champion, who will be taking part in her first Olympic Games. “It’s been a difficult year, explains the 20-year-old archer. We had to work extra hard to be the best in the world. We had to stop studying (1st year of history degree in Paris)give 110% to archery. The competitions are looking pretty good with the titles brought back from the European Championships. Now it’s up to us to go and play on a world scale.”
Finally, the very young Amélie Cordeau (1st Archery Company of Annemasse), 18 years old, will also participate in her very first Olympic Games. However, she is already a multi-medalist: U18 European champion in 2022, elite French champion in 2022 and 2nd in the 2023 youth world championships.
In the men’s competition, the experienced Jean-Charles Valladont (Arc Club de Nîmes), 35 years old – former world number 1, silver medallist in Rio in 2016 – will have at his side Thomas Chirault (Archers Clermontois) 26 years old and the very young Baptiste Addis (Arc Club de Nîmes), 17 years old, for whom this will be a discovery.
For Thomas Chirault, this is his second Olympiad. But the involvement this year for these Games on home soil has been unique. “It was an unimaginable personal investment for everyone but it lived up to expectations to potentially have good results this summer, explains the archer who put his studies at the engineering school Polytech Sorbonne on hold. It remains an extraordinary “competition” where anything can happen, we will try to seize our chance.”
Gold goal for the FFTA
The final word goes to Jean-Charles Valladont, the “big brother” of this very young French team: “The federation’s goal is to come back with a gold medal. Afterwards, my main goal is to have no regrets and to do the best possible. Of course, with the ambition of succeeding as best as possible and coming back with a medal.”.
It must be said that the FFTA has put the means in place for two years by hiring a Korean head coach, Oh Seon Tek, to best approach these Olympic Games. Answer from July 25, Esplanade des Invalides where the archery events will take place until August 4.
2024-07-03 09:56:21
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