“I went through all the stages…” On Sunday, Marc-Antoine Olivier, 27, bronze medalist over 10 km at the Rio Olympics in 2016, qualified for Paris 2024 in incredible conditions.
Finally second in the race around the Old Port of Doha, the Northerner thought for a long time that he would not even be able to start.
“There was a lot of pressure, clearly it could have put a stop to my career,” he said, relieved, as he left Qatari waters.
When it's official, I'll explain myself.
You will understand why.
It’s still confidential, it will be officially released on February 7…”
Behind these disjointed and very enigmatic sentences spontaneously released after the race to relieve extreme pressure lies a much simpler reality.
Guilty of three no-shows (failure to locate anti-doping controls) between April 2022 and April 2023, the Habs had been living for months with the threat of a suspension hanging over their hat.
🏊 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
And the closer the fateful date of the Worlds approached, the thicker the cloud became.
So much so that the FFN decided to take a replacement to Qatar in the event that Olivier was prevented from swimming at the last moment.
On Wednesday January 31, the former protégé of Philippe Lucas, who now trains in Italy, was interviewed at the last minute by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after months of radio silence.
“He was shaken,” we explain to the FFN, where we still wonder why the swimmer spoke spontaneously in front of the media.
He has therefore obviously been cleared but we do not yet know the reasons for the CAS decision and on what arguments it ruled.
But to deprive him of these Worlds was to deprive him of the Olympics.
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The French leaders had previously looked among foreign nations to see if there was any case law but they did not find any cases except for refusals of control (and not breaches).
Marc-Antoine Olivier, who still has to compete in the 5 km (non-Olympic distance) this Wednesday, is patient until the reasoned decision is made to deliver his thoughts more clearly.
Knowing that it is not safe from possible appeal by the International Federation (World Aquatics) or the ITA (International Testing Agency).
🇫🇷 𝑬𝒏 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 🇫🇷
By becoming vice-champion of the 10km at the Doha World Championships, Marc-Antoine Olivier wins his ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Maximum ⚡ in comments! #EnergieduSport #Paris2024 pic .twitter.com/LHb3zMx4dc
— Énergie du Sport (@energiedusport) February 4, 2024
Last summer, the best French chance in open water was deprived of the Fukuoka Worlds due to repeated inappropriate behavior with the staff.
Without a direct link with his three no-shows even if they reinforce the negative image of a boy who has difficulty managing his daily life and assuming his responsibilities.
“It's not over, there are still a few months to work and find the most beautiful colors,” he said on Sunday.
In the currently unlikely event that the leader of the Blues finally receives a sanction in the weeks or months to come, France, which qualified two swimmers for the first time, would lose a place in the Seine… which it would recover as organizing country.