Bronze for Agbégnénou, French fencers fail in sudden death, Marchand on the verge of succeeding in his crazy bet… What to remember from the day of July 30

The only two French podiums obtained on Tuesday were in judo and fencing, the biggest providers of medals for the French delegation.

After the exceptional harvest and the eight medals won by France on Monday, the day was calmer on Tuesday, July 30, with fewer medals and more qualifying phases in the disciplines that the French are successful in. The postponement of the triathlon event scheduled for the beginning of the day also prevented the French clan from climbing the medal rankings. As has been the case every day since the official start of the Olympics on Saturday, fencing and judo allowed the French delegation to add to the spoils.

Clarisse Agbégnénou misses her quest for a double

After a sluggish start to the day and a difficult entry into the competition against the Israeli Gili Sharir, whom she ended up pushing aside after seven minutes of intense combat, the reigning Olympic champion in the under 63 kg category gained momentum against the Brazilian Ketleyn Quadros, before pushing aside the Kosovar Laura Fazliu in less than 30 seconds by ippon. A rush towards gold stopped in the semi-final against the Slovenian Leski Andreja, whom she had always beaten and whom she dominated before leaving her an opening.

Angry at herself, the Rennes native managed to remobilise during her fight for bronze to leave the Grand Palais Ephémère with a consolation medal. “I admit that it’s hard to swallow. For me, I’m above and it’s hard to be satisfied with what we have here, but I will savor it”she assured the microphone of France Télévisions after her last fight, before suggesting that the Paris Games would not be her last. “I’m not going to end up like this”smiled the now four-time Olympic medalist.

French fencers miss gold by one touch

When she looks back at the Paris Olympics, double silver medallist Auriane Mallo-Breton will have plenty to be proud of, but she may not be able to help but feel a little frustrated. Beaten in the individual épée final in sudden death on Saturday, the Lyonnaise once again saw gold slip away from her by a touch against Italy in the team event on Tuesday.

In front of a Grand Palais in fusion, the French, ninth nation in the world rankings, had until then had a perfect run against the best. They first eliminated the South Koreans (37-31), seeded number 2, before beating the Polish (45-39), third best nation. It was finally against the Italians, world number 1, that they came up against (29-30), after leading for most of the final.

Marchand in great shape on his marathon day

It was a risky bet, and it still holds. Olympic champion in the 400m medley with several lengths ahead of his competitors on Sunday, Léon Marchand was back in the Paris La Défense Arena pool at the end of the morning for the heats, then in the evening for the semi-finals of the 200 m butterfly and 200 m breaststroke. He finished his day leading the breaststroke and second in the butterfly, behind Kristof Milak, the reigning Olympic champion. On Wednesday, he will have to chain the two finals two hours apart to attempt a monumental feat.

For his part, Maxime Grousset is emerging as a serious contender for the medal in 100 m freestyle after taking the second time in the series (47″70) and the fourth in the semi-finals (47″63). See you on Wednesday also for him, at the very end of the program, after Marchand’s attempt at a double for an evening that could be historic for French swimming.

First title for Simone Biles in Paris, her ninth Olympic medal

Already well ahead in qualifying on Sunday, the American women’s gymnastics team confirmed its supremacy by winning the team competition by a wide margin with the best score on each apparatus. Simone Biles, a world star in the discipline, played a major role in this success with the best total points of all the competitors entered.

The five-time Olympic champion joined Nadia Comaneci with nine medals at the Olympics, the highest total for an American gymnast. A record that should swell in the coming days with the all-around competition and the three event finals in which she qualified.

Qualifications are starting to fall in co sports

After the defeat in men’s handball and the surprise elimination of the French women’s rugby 7s the day before, the French team sports teams raised their heads on Tuesday, securing three qualifications. The French handball teams were the first to secure their ticket with a calm victory against Brazil (26-20), the third in as many matches. Olivier Krumbholz’s players are now aiming for first place in their group to ensure the most affordable quarter-final possible.

A performance that the footballers can boast of thanks to their third success as well. Despite a significant number of changes, Thierry Henry’s players showed mastery to beat New Zealand 3-0. They will face Argentina in the quarter-finals. It’s also done for the reigning Olympic volleyball champions who will have one match left against Slovenia to take the lead in their group.