Olympic Games: sports shooting, the first chance for a French medal

As in London in 2012 with the money won by Céline Goberville in pistol shooting at 10m, will sport shooting bring its first medal at the Games to France near Tokyo?

After nearly a year and a half without international competition because of the pandemic, the six girls and four boys of the French delegation were able to find sensations at the recent European Championships, where they won nine medals.

Despite everything, the final preparations for the Games were “

”, Told the National Technical Director (DTN) of the French Shooting Federation, Gilles Müller, during a press conference Thursday.

Because of the very restrictive Japanese legislation on the possession of weapons and ammunition, the selection had to train in South Korea before the Games, but had to give up in the face of the deteriorated health situation there, he said. Explain.

To discover

• The full program of the Olympic Games

Océanne Muller, on the launch of her European title

For these Games, the French will have to deal with the heat on the Asaka shooting range (north of Tokyo), about forty kilometers from the Olympic Village, where the shooting events were also held during the 1964 Olympics. At just 18 years old, Océanne Muller will be the first chance for a French medal, as of Saturday morning, in 10m air rifle, category in which the Alsatian won the gold medal at the end of May at the European Championships in Osijek. (Croatia). Being at the Olympics "

" she said, saying "

”she announced, saying that she was aiming at least for qualification in the final, or even a podium.

Mathilde Lamolle, the good experience of Rio

Mathilde Lamolle, also crowned European champion this year, in the 25m air pistol, will try for her second Olympic participation to capitalize on her experience in Rio, when she was only 19 years old.

"

" Aubagnaise told AFP a few months ago.

“

Happy to have found her marks in Croatia, Mathilde Lamolle knows however that Tokyo will be a different kettle of fish, especially against Chinese and Indian shooters deemed formidable. On the men's side, the French will count on Jean Quiquampoix, the steel-minded shooter who won silver in Rio in 2016, to aim for a podium in the 25m sprint pistol.