Reigning Olympic team champion, Yannick Borel failed as soon as he entered the running this Sunday morning in Tokyo.
The 32-year-old swordsman fell 15-11 to Egypt's Mohamed Elsayed.
Thirteen years his junior, he celebrated his surprise victory with a celebration à la Cristiano Ronaldo.
Read alsoJO de Tokyo: follow the live Sunday July 25
This is a big disappointment for France.
Borel was aiming for a first individual Olympic medal, after his titles of world champion (2018) and European champion (2016, 2017, 2018).
🇫🇷 No 3 out of 3 for the French swordsmen in the Round of 16 🇫🇷 🥺
Yannick Borel fails at the gates of the Round of 16.
He lost 15-11 against the Egyptian Mohamed Elsayed # Tokyo2020 #Olympic
Games Follow the Olympics live ▶ https://t.co/wRM6q9VOGt pic.twitter.com/VLHBNEv0AM
- France tv sport (@francetvsport) July 25, 2021
French fencing saw a mixed day, after the fiasco of the day before (two eliminations of entry). French foilist Ysaora Thibus, vice-world champion in 2018 and world number three, admittedly qualified for the round of 16 of the Olympic fencing tournament, but not her teammates Pauline Ranvier and Anita Blaze, eliminated from the start. Among the swordsmen, Alexandre Bardenet also passes in 8th as Romain Cannone, executioner of the Venezuelan Mardo Gascon, Olympic champion in 2012.