The embers of Tokyo are still hot.
And we are already burning with impatience at the idea that the Olympic flame is lit in Paris.
The Blues have not reached their goal of medals in Japan (33 instead of the 40 or 42 announced according to the authorities) and know that they will be eagerly awaited at home.
Behind the Riner, Manaudou, Mayer or Agbégnénou, who still intend to play the headliners, many athletes have the means to make us vibrate.
Bronze medalist in over 78 kg and gold by mixed team, the judokate
Romane Dicko, 21, is only targeting the Marseillaise.
Like most of his comrades (eight charms in total at the Nippon Budokan), eager to get their hands on the Arena Champ de Mars.
"See you in three years for the gold medal," said the young woman as soon as she got off the tatami.
The next generation of track cycling
Third in over 67 kg, taekwondoist Althéa Laurin, too, is already eager to touch the golden summit.
17-year-old table tennis player Prithika Pavade, who came out in the individual first round, learned about the Games.
An invaluable experience in view of its true Parisian objective.
Swimmers Maxime Grousset, 22, and Léon Marchand, 19, did even better than that by positioning themselves on the international scene.
The first took 4th place in the 100m freestyle, the second 6th place in the 400m medley.
What to give a breath of fresh air to a discipline that drinks a little the cup.
Read alsoJO Tokyo: with 33 medals including 10 gold, France finished 8th in the ranking of nations
In track cycling, the next generation is already there.
The trio Grengbo, Vigier, Helal (22 years old on average) were not necessarily expected bronze on the team speed podium.
The ambitions will be quite different in the National Velodrome of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, where Mathilde Gros, 22, will want to “show that we are at home”.
We also want to find some colors in the tricolor canoe-kayak, which paddles the Sea Forest Waterway (road race) and Kasai (slalom).
For her first Games, 23-year-old Marjorie Delassus had to settle for fourth place in the canoe slalom, which was making its appearance on the Olympic program.
Can and wants to do better.
Cannone, confirmation?
Still in the water, but with a sail, Thomas Goyard, silver in RS: X (a windsurfing board), could transmit metal to his brother Nicolas, 25, on the new board and foil event. In fencing, Romain Cannone, 24, has already raised the bar. The swordsman, "scheduled for 2024", and first gold medalist of the French delegation, has taken a little ahead of schedule. In its wake, swordsmen and foil players will be keen to justify the status of a sport traditionally providing podiums.
In team sports, handball player Dika Mem, 23, or volleyball player Jean Patry, 24, do not intend to fall asleep on their Japanese laurels. The basketball prodigy Victor Wembanyama, 17, could burst the screen for his first Olympics. The same goes for the great hope of athletics Sacha Zhoya, 19, who, at the end of 2019, preferred to defend the colors of France rather than those of Australia where he grew up. The prospect of participating in the 2024 Olympics in his mother's native land had been one of the determining factors in his choice ...