And two makes four!
After Océane Cassignol and Caroline Jouisse, who won the precious ticket on Saturday, Marc-Antoine Olivier and Logan Fontaine also managed to validate their presence at the Paris Olympic Games (from Friday July 26 to Sunday August 11) at the from the 10 km open water event of the World Championships, this Sunday in Doha.
After winning bronze in 2017 then silver in 2019, Marc-Antoine Olivier failed to win gold against Hungarian Kristof Rasovszky, winner in 1 hour 48 minutes and 21 seconds and had to settle for second place.
The other Frenchman entered, Logan Fontaine, finished just off the podium even though he was engaged in a final sprint with eight other swimmers.
The two Tricolors will have a chance to win new charms during the Paris Olympic Games in a few months, while France has never managed to qualify four open water swimmers in its history.
Marc-Antoine Olivier has come a long way
Freshly qualified for the Olympic Games, the just vice-world champion has put aside his setbacks of last year.
The bronze medalist from the Rio Olympics was deprived of the World Championships in Japan last July, following a two-month suspension for inappropriate behavior towards the staff of the French team, even though he had been warned three times.
🏊 VICE-WORLD CHAMPION!
Marc-Antoine Olivier wins the silver medal in the 10km open water in Doha🥈
Logan Fontaine finishes at the foot of the podium with a nice 4th place 🇫🇷
pic.twitter.com/DOUuutMbUO
— Equipe France (@EquipeFRA) February 4, 2024
“We hope it will click for him.
He's really talented but you can't accept everything.
It's not performance at any price.
We cannot sweep the dust under the carpet because it is a chance of a medal,” warned Julien Issoulié, the National Technical Director of the FFN in comments reported by L’Equipe.
The lesson seems to have been understood...