She played her first Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000. And for her seventh Olympic Games in Paris this summer, Mélina Robert-Michon dreams of being the flag bearer of the French delegation.
The discus thrower, Olympic vice-champion in Rio in 2016, officially made her candidacy on Wednesday during a “Blue Evening” organized by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) in the Vuitton workshops (owned by LVMH, partner of the 2024 Olympics and also owner of Parisien-Aujourd'hui in France) in Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).
“Obviously it hooks me, it’s something that is close to my heart,” said, according to comments reported by RMC Sport, the woman who will celebrate her 45th birthday this summer. The Olympics mean a lot to me, it has guided more than 20 years of my life. They must choose me if my career inspires them, if my personality pleases them. I am what I am. Everyone has their own definition of the role of standard bearer. It must fit their idea. I would be very proud to represent them and take them all with me to these Olympics to make it a great success. »
The discus thrower, finalist in Budapest in August for the tenth World Championships of her career, had already expressed her interest in the role before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where judoka Clarisse Agbégnénou and gymnast Samir Aït Saïd had played this role. The “matriarch” of the Bleues de l’athletics can in any case apply, according to the eligibility criteria set by the CNOSF and its Paralympic counterpart, the CPSF.
The first standard bearer from athletics since Marie-José Pérec?
To carry the tricolor flag during the opening ceremony of the Games scheduled for the evening of July 26 on the Seine, you must have already participated at least once in the Olympic Games, not have been a flag bearer during previous Olympic Games or still not having suffered a conviction appearing on bulletin number 3 of his record. All this potentially excludes Antoine Dupont, Victor Wembanyama and Kylian Mbappé, neophytes, Teddy Riner and Clarisse Agbégnénou, already named, and Nikola Karabatic, convicted by the courts in a case of rigged bets.
This is not the case, however, for Florent Manaudou who ran as a candidate.
The federations may present one and/or one candidate between April 1 and May 31 and the two winners cannot come from the same sport. All the athletes selected for the Olympic Games will be able to vote to designate the two flag bearers of the delegation in mid-July. In the event of a tie, the bonus will be given to the oldest.