They missed each other so much ... Some, weaned in front of their TVs or hanging on their radios, others, fighting for Olympic medals in the (almost) anonymity of empty stadiums and stands.
Under the sun of the Trocadéro (Paris XVIth) at the beginning of the afternoon, the Triathlon team, bronze medalist, opened the festivities.
Léonie Périault, Cassandre Beaugrand, Dorian Coninx and Vincent Luis took to the stage in line, each with a tricolor flag on the back.
A few yards away, Ahmed is in the front row.
At 27, a fan of the discipline, he follows the French in all competitions around the world.
“It's great to see them after Tokyo.
Even though I had seen them a few times before, I wanted to see them for real, it's always impressive.
Today, they are there, we can discuss with them and it is a happiness, declares the fan, dressed in race clothes.
Signing session @EquipeFRA #livedesjeux pic.twitter.com/hvJXDBtn6r
- FFTRI.
- French Triathlon Federation (@FFTRI) August 2, 2021
An admiring public, accessible and fulfilled athletes
Later, it is the quarter of an hour of glory of the silver medalist windsurfers, Charline Picon and Thomas Goyard.
The latter does not hide his enthusiasm to be there, now far from the Tokyo camera.
“The Japanese, I like them, but I prefer you, the French public.
»Present, and soon wet not by the few drops of rain which fall, but sprinkled with champagne by the sabers who follow them on the platform to receive, also the deserved acclamations.
The silver medalist sabers were there.
LP / Bastien Moignoux
Cécilia Berder, silver medalist with the saber team, can not come down from her little cloud, and she proclaims it loud and clear with a broad smile stuck to her lips: I haven't slept, but I could go back to fight without a problem. Really, really, you can't imagine how much good you are doing us! "Charlotte Lembach, her teammate, does not hesitate to remove her medal hanging from her neck to place it in the hands of a child:" I want to show them that this reward is possible. "
In turn, the athletes leave the stage to reunite with their friends, family and relatives whom they have been deprived of due to sanitary conditions.
They also engage in endless autograph sessions.
Without losing a crumb of what is happening in Tokyo, broadcast on a giant screen: Nicolas Touzaint has just achieved a clear round and the French riding team brings its 23rd medal to the tricolor delegation, it will be bronze and acclaimed by the public present at the Trocadéro.
French judo sets the mood
After a short respite on the emotional side, things start again. Fifteen minutes before the judo stars arrive, the floor in front of the stage is already crowded. Despite the masks, we see the smiles rising on the faces. About a hundred blue-white-red flags flutter in the air. Laptops are also brandished "They are there, they are there!" We hear from both sides. The music starts and they enter the scene: Clarisse Agbégnénou and Teddy Riner as leaders. Thrills guaranteed.
Like Serge, many are present here to congratulate the mixed judo team. At 58, he fell in love with it. “They were magnificent, they made me vibrate, he thanks. I think it's the least we can do to give them back what they gave us. A virtuous circle that feeds on. "It is this energy that makes us start again", loose Teddy Riner. Leave for new sensations in three years in Paris.
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