Guillaume Burger has just experienced a terrible emotional lift.
Thursday, during the continental catch-ups organized in Szeged in Hungary, the French kayaker won a brilliant second place in K1 1000 meters, synonymous with the qualification quota for the Tokyo Olympics.
A few hours later, his participation in the race and by extension his Olympic qualification were finally invalidated and granted to the third, the Norwegian Lars Magne Ullvang.
In the ranks of the France team, the disillusion is equal to the joy aroused by the performance of the Strasbourg, licensed in Saint-Grégoire in Brittany.
“He had a superb race and had won his quota in the most beautiful way: it was a real cause for hope for the Olympic race, said Ludovic Royé, national technical director (DTN) of the French Canoe Federation. kayak (FFCK).
He is devastated and beyond Guillaume, the entire France team is particularly affected because we have a strong and united team.
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"Obscure" qualification rules
During the 2019 Worlds, Frenchman Etienne Hubert finished in seventh place in K1 1000 meters, just behind the first six Olympic quotas. On the other hand, the latter had won a quota in K2 1000 meters thanks to his bronze medal. Then, the International Canoe Federation (ICF) reallocated an additional qualifying quota in K1 1000 meters which was therefore supposed to go to Etienne Hubert but who finally profited in the eighth of the race. Indeed, the regulation prevents the accumulation of several qualification quotas. "These Olympic qualification rules are so dark and obscure that we then requested written confirmation from the ICF in January 2020 to be sure of being able to participate in continental catch-ups: we had obtained it black and white," says Ludovic Royé. .
𝐋𝐀 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐋𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄 𝐃𝐄 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐄́𝐄: an insufferable scandal!
Victim of an unforgivable fault 👉 https://t.co/Hz2pH0Ps0S #RespectAhtletes # TousAvecGuillaume @ jeuxolympiques @Sports_gouv @PlanetCanoe pic.twitter.com/v0QHAvioDY
- FFCK (@FF_CanoeKayak) May 14, 2021
The incomprehension reigns in the French camp vis-a-vis a general secretary of the ICF who quite simply changed his mind a posteriori.
“The secretary speaks of an administrative error, underlines the DTN.
He believes that we could not participate in the race because he had allocated us the additional quota before giving it to the eighth except that we were never notified of this reallocation.
At the Team Leader meeting at the beginning of the week, our participation was again validated.
We are discussing with the other nations and nobody understands what is going on because it has never happened, even the Norwegians who recover the quota do not understand.
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Actions with the IOC and the CAS
While the French team is still in Hungary to participate in the last non-qualifying races, the FFCK does not intend to stop there. "I am convinced that the sporting community of Canoe Kayak will mobilize to repair this fault, hopes its president Jean Zoungrana in a press release. The IOC is the guarantor of fair play and the interests of the athletes. I am convinced that they will be able to mobilize alongside us to redress this glaring injustice. "Ludovic Royé confirms that he is working with elected members of the ICF to seize the IOC and does not rule out going further:" If that does not work, we will defend the interests of our athletes by all legal means and in particular the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS]. "
This Olympic qualification for Guillaume Burger was particularly important. On the one hand, it allowed the France team to compete in all the kayaking events at the Tokyo Olympics. On the other hand, it was the last possibility for the 32-year-old kayaker to participate in the next Olympics. "The fourth and last world qualifying phase will take place in Russia but we will not be able to participate because the ICF declares us ineligible," laments Ludovic Royé. This weekend, Guillaume Burger will try to get a medal in K4 500 meters, as a consolation prize.