2023-12-28 11:29:00
They shone and carried the colors of France high in their respective sports in 2023. A few months before the Olympic Games, some confirmed their level, others revealed themselves. Or, conversely, others have particularly disappointed us, between early elimination and extra-sporting affairs. A look back at the best and worst of French sport this year 2023.
Julia Simon, podiums galore
Julia Simon had a record-breaking 2023. The French biathlon star won the big crystal globe, a first for a French woman since 2005. First in the general classification of the World Cup this season, Julia Simon gleaned three victories and a title of world champion in the pursuit. With 12 podiums over the season, she sets a record for a French woman. In addition to the large crystal globe, the Albertville native won the small globe in pursuit and mass start. In short, an XXL season.
The French women’s handball team on the roof of the world
French handball players once again won the World Championships, organized in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The French team won all its matches, beating Norway in the final (31-28) without trembling. A third world title in 20 years which confirms the excellent health of French handball in recent years. Title holders, they will obviously be favorites in their own succession at home this summer.
Léon Marchand, records and medals
He is the new face of French swimming. At only 21 years old, Léon Marchand already has a well-rounded track record. In July, during the World Championships, the Toulouse man beat the world record for the 400 meter medley, previously held by the legend Michael Phelps. With 3 gold medals gleaned during the competition, he became the most successful French swimmer individually at the World Championships. No doubt: Léon Marchand will be eagerly awaited during the Olympics this summer and will constitute a great chance of a French medal.
Antoine Griezmann in History
There are few French footballers who have legendary status in a major European club. Antoine Griezmann is now at Atlético Madrid. Diego Simeone, his coach, said it himself, affirming that the Frenchman “is part of the history of the club. » The 2018 world champion became the top scorer for the “Colchoneros”, with 173 goals. Antoine Griezmann is in sparkling form with Atlético. The sports newspaper As named him best player in the 2022-2023 Spanish championship. In 2024, Grizou will be keen to shine with the Blues during the Euro and then during the Olympics in which he hopes to participate.
The Félix Lebrun revelation
There are no words to describe Félix Lebrun’s trajectory in 2023. The table tennis player won the European Games… at just 16 years old. 7th in the world rankings, his progression is dazzling. Especially since the specialists were expecting more from his brother Alexis, who fell to the world number one in April. The Montpellier native became the third earliest player in history to enter the world top 10. The promise of a very good career and a face that we will obviously scrutinize this summer.
Lots of expectations and ultimately quite a few disappointments. Favorite of the Rugby World Cup organized at home, the French men’s rugby team finally took the door in the quarter-final, against South Africa (28-29). An elimination which sparked a lot of reactions, particularly on the quality of the refereeing of this match. What does it matter for those mainly concerned? “We can try to find the positive by saying that there are quite a few young players, a great generation, but the truth is that today we failed in the quarter-final of our World Cup and It’s going to be hard to accept,” Matthieu Jalibert then reacted.
Paul Pogba, like a sad end to his career
We remember Paul Pogba, the centerpiece of the French team, world champion in 2018. This player seems far away after the dark year experienced by “La Pioche” in 2023. Almost no matches played with Juventus Turin because of a knee operation and especially a positive test for testosterone last August. A 4-year suspension was requested against Paul Pogba by the Italian anti-doping prosecution. His club has also suspended its midfielder since the announcement of the positive test. It’s difficult to imagine the French player playing at a high level again.
Noël Le Graët, a controversy and then leaves
A controversy then a departure without glory or honor. In January 2023, then president of the French Football Federation, Noël Le Graët was asked about the possibility of seeing Zinédine Zidane at the head of the France team. And the response was scathing: “I don’t care, he can go wherever he wants. I wouldn’t even have picked him up on the phone. To tell him what? Hello, sir, don’t worry, look for another club, have I just reached an agreement with Didier Deschamps? »
A response sparked indignation in French football. Kylian Mbappé notably spoke out by writing on X (formerly Twitter): “Zidane, it’s France, we don’t disrespect the legend like that…”
Zidane is France, we don’t disrespect the legend like that… ����♂️
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) January 8, 2023
The Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, had invited the extraordinary executive committee of the FFF to rule on the case of the president of French football, already implicated for his positions on racism and homophobia in football, on the working conditions of employees in Qatar and after several testimonies of harassment within the FFF. Result, a withdrawal followed by a resignation for the one who has been at the head of the Federation since 2011.
French athletics with absent subscribers
A silver medal in the men’s 4 x 400 meters: that’s all the French delegation gleaned at the World Athletics Championships in Hungary last August. With 79 athletes entered, the French team was nevertheless the third most represented delegation. Already during the previous edition in 2019, the Blues did not shine, with only two podiums. A few months before the Olympic Games, it is difficult to be confident about France’s chances of a medal in this flagship discipline of the Olympics.
The French basketball team did not respond
A huge failure: this is what the World Cup was for the French men’s basketball team, eliminated in the group stages. Olympic vice-champions in 2021, Vincent Collet’s men did not manage last August to extricate themselves from a group made up of Canada, Latvia and Lebanon. The competition, organized in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines, will not remain a great memory for French basketball. However, with Nicolas Batum, Nando de Colo and Evan Fournier, the Blues had all their best players, with the exception of Victor Wembanyama.
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