From our special correspondent in Tokyo
To discover
The full Olympic program
The Olympic medal table
He arrived, satisfied.
On a small cloud.
After having experienced all the pleasures.
The intense one, in silver (behind the American star Caeleb Dressel) of a third medal in the 50 m freestyle (after gold in 2012 in London and silver in Rio de Janeiro in 2016) and that of the bronze medal his partner, the Danish Pernille Blume, bronze medalist in the 50m freestyle.
Extracts from a smiling passage in a mixed zone.
The race
“I had the chance to be next to Caeleb in the playoffs, I had a vision of what it was going to be like to be next to him, I got sucked in a bit at the end of the race, I lost my support a bit but that didn't change much.
I have energy the whole race, where I didn't have any in the preparation competitions, maybe due to age, the job done.
I held my race and I have a medal, I'm so happy… ”
Read also: Olympic Games: Carried by Olympic magic, Manaudou wins silver in the 50m freestyle
Rio 2016, Tokyo 2021, money doesn't have the same flavor
"This medal, it is better, because there is already a plane in front which is 21''0 (Caeleb Dressel in gold in 21''07), it is complicated to go to look for it, while in Rio when you lose by a hundredth (beaten by American Anthony Ervin), it's different. I had swam faster in the half, the sensations were different, there I stopped, I came back, I had fun. I think 95% of people didn't believe in me, it boosted me too, I like that. It is incredible this medal. I have seen very talented athletes who have never had an Olympic medal or who have stepped onto a podium without having the gold, I am proud of what I have accomplished. I am proud to have managed to take advantage of the moment. It is really thepresent moment and I wanted to do this and I had never really succeeded in doing it. When I came back to swimming two and a half years ago, I really wanted to have fun, I got a little lost along the way this year because my perfs weren't 'phew' and I don't. an incredible race in terms of time, but that proves that enough is enough. You shouldn't ask yourself too many questions. It's cool, I'm really happy with it. Of course a medal is good but I'm happy with my personal trip, because it was hard: Le Canet (22''12 in June), Monaco (still above 22 '' in May), the `` France '' (beaten by Maxime Grousset), it was not easy to manage and when you haveexperience it also serves that to be able to free oneself and to let oneself take a little in an Olympic final, it is good. "
Pernille Blume, his Danish partner (bronze medalist in the 50m freestyle)
“
I think I experienced her race better than she did mine, because she had to prepare for hers. It was a bit complicated. We had known for months that it was going to be like this if we were both in the final. I told him 'Don't watch my race'. When you're a little emotional and in love, it's complicated to "switch". I think she watched anyway. Me, I was too happy, excited about my medal, to be able to see his final… it's incredible to be in a relationship, to have two medals, on the same Olympiad, on the same day, almost at the same time. It's crazy''. We live together all year round, we haven't had easy times this year. She put up with me a lot, I think I was a bit more annoying than she was.When I saw on TV, the Danish flag with Blume on it, it's cool… ”
To read also: Olympic Games: gold medal, family history, failures ... The confidences of Tony Estanguet and Florent Manaudou
The hazardous return to the top
“After Chartres (French championships in June), I told myself that it couldn't be worse, everyone said to me: 'I've never seen you swim so badly'. One month before the Games, it was encouraging… And I said to myself: '' Let yourself go, you'll see what happens. '' We went to train in Antibes, outdoors, I took the sun, it made me feel good, I was with Pernille, it was cool. I managed to tell myself, we train four, ten, fifteen years to live an Olympic final and in the end when we live it, we are afraid, it's still quite paradoxical, I said to myself '' it's really stupid to do that, not to have taken advantage of your two medals in Rio, take advantage of the moment '', the result will be offered to you, if thatis podium is podium, if it's semi-final it's semi-final, if it's final it's final, we'll see. That's what helped me loosen up. I'm so happy… "
The people who counted
“There is Ju (Pasquier), Thomas my mental trainer, Romain with whom I spoke, my friends with whom I am all the time, Pernille. It's an accumulation of things that made me like that. And when people would ask me, I wanted to have fun, saying it, putting words, it's super important, I think, I wrote it a lot to my friends, I said it a lot to my friends, my family that I wanted to have fun and at one point, it comes into my head and when I got behind the plot, I said to myself `` Do as before, you smile, we'll see what happens pass '' and I was really too good, I looked at the end of the pelvis, I was happy. While in Rio I said to myself '' over there, it's over. Finally''. It is really nice,I am really very happy. "
First French swimmer to win medals in three Olympic Games
“
I also think that I am the French swimmer with the most medals, Yannick (Agnel) and Amaury (Levaux) have 3, Camille (Muffat) too. Longevity, life expectancy ? I had a lot of fun since Rio, learning the guitar… I did so many things that I took pleasure from everywhere and when I came back to swimming, even if I got lost along the way, I I had a lot of fun and it showed… ”
The following ? Paris 2024
“I would like to experience the Games in Paris, in my country. I experienced the Euro petit bain in 2012; the smallest of the international competitions, it was already '' phew '' already so the Games in his country it must be incredible, the level of perf 'I do not know how it will be, I do not know the trip that I will take for three years, you never know what could happen, but I want to experience the Games in my country. I don't know if I'll do 50, 100, the relay, we'll see… ”
