Kevin Mayer and the decathlon athletes return to the track this Wednesday.
A difficult start for the Frenchman who is, for the moment, far from his personal bests due to a back injury.
On the blue side, there will be two tricolors in the final of the 110 m hurdles thanks to Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and Aurel Manga.
Still on the athletics tracks, like the day before for the men, Sydney McLaughlin won the world record in the 400m hurdles.
We summarize the essentials of the night for you.
Mayer, tears of suffering
Huge blow this morning for French athletics.
If the decathlon is not yet over, Kevin Mayer is poorly placed to go for the gold medal.
After the first three events (100 m, long jump, shot put), the French remains 4th at 304 points behind Damian Warner.
Very fit, the Canadian made a jump to 8.24 m which would have ensured him a bronze medal in the specialty.
Mayer will have to work to catch up from the high jump at 11:30 am.
🗣️ “I got my back blocked when I arrived in Japan. I'm not enjoying it”
🇫🇷 Kévin Mayer's distress following his 4th place overall in the decathlon after three stages.
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 4, 2021
The French Olympic vice-champion is, for the moment, far from his personal bests.
Example by weight where the world record holder in the decathlon achieved 15.07 m, almost 70 cm from his best mark.
The fault of an injury which handicaps him enormously and which prevents him from aiming for gold: “The meeting of my life is totally ruined.
They are not tears of abandonment, nor of sadness.
It's frustration because I can't express myself.
I give everything but I take no pleasure.
"
Martinot-Lagarde and Manga in the 110m hurdles final
This is the nice surprise of this morning in Tokyo on the French side. There will be two tricolors in the final of the 110m hurdles with Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and Aurel Manga. Two qualifications very far from being decided in advance. The first has run very little this season because of injuries and had to achieve his best time of the season (13''25) to reach the final: "My course is so chaotic that making a final today, I am somewhere else. The reigning European champion finished second in his semi-final just behind Jamaican Ronald Levy (13′'23).
🇫🇷 Pascal Martinot-Lagarde sets his best time of the season in 13'25 ''.
The Frenchman finished 2nd in his series behind Jamaican Ronald Levy and went to the 110m hurdles final # Tokyo2020 #Olympic Games
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 4, 2021
Almost similar performance for the French as Aurel Manga equaled his best personal mark in 13''24, a hundredth less than Martinot-Lagarde.
Like his compatriot, Manga finished second in his 1/2, behind American Devon Allen (13''18).
The French should find themselves competing for the podium.
For gold, Grant Holloway, world champion and holder of the second best time of all time (12''81) remains the big favorite.
Meet at 4:45 a.m. on Thursday.
Hostens in 1/2, Rivière exited from the 8th… The other results
The French are still looking for a medal in canoeing.
Manon Hostens in K1 500 m, and Maxime Beaumont in K1 200 m, are still in the race after having validated their ticket for the semi-finals.
6th in its series, the first had to go through the repechage in 1′54′'095 to climb to 1/2.
The second, he did not need to go since the tricolor finished second in his series in 35′'259.
On the other hand, it is already over for Guillaume Burger and Etienne Hubert who finished last in their quarter-finals.
✅🇫🇷 It is validated for the French Manon Hostens who reached the semi-finals thanks to a well-deserved 2nd place during her draft.
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 4, 2021
Big disappointment also on the side of the fight with Mathilde Rivière.
As soon as she entered the running, in the 8th final of -57 kg, the Frenchwoman had to forfeit in the last seconds because of a dislocated shoulder.
A damaging injury since against the Mongolian Boldsaikhan, Rivière led 5-3 before the attack of his opponent.
🤼 🇫🇷 The terrible image of Frenchwoman Mathilde Rivière who could not even finish the fight against Mongolian Boldsaikhan.
Injured in the shoulder, the Habs left the mat and stopped in the round of 16 #Olympic
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 4, 2021
Last elimination of the day on the French side.
The youngest of the delegation, Madeleine Larcheron finished 13th in the series, without being able to obtain her ticket for the final.
In the “park” event, the young 15-year-old Frenchman scored 32.34 on her first run.
An insufficient score to go to the final.
McLaughlin, another 400m hurdles record
And world records keep falling in Tokyo.
On Wednesday, Sydney McLaughlin emulated Karsten Warholm in the 400m hurdles to improve on the all-time best mark in 51′'46.
The resemblance does not stop there since the 21-year-old American was also the holder of the previous record for a month (51′'90).
Even better, his runner-up Dalilah Muhammad, like Rai Benjamin the day before, was also on time for the world record.
🇺🇸 As with the men yesterday, the women's 400m hurdles final has made history!
American Sydney McLaughlin smashes the world record in 51'46 '' ahead of Dalilah Muhammad in 51'58 '' # Tokyo2020
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 4, 2021
With this Olympic coronation for his first participation in the Games, McLaughlin signs his best result in an international competition.
"I am so proud to be able to represent my country in this way" reacted the new gold medalist.
A world record and the Olympic title, it doesn't get better.
