French medal chance at the Games, Sara Balzer last minute withdrawal from the European Championships

New blow for French fencing. French sabrer Sara Balzer, world number 1 and big favorite for the Olympic title in less than six weeks in Paris, withdrew less than an hour before the start of her European Championships in Basel (Switzerland), Thursday June 20 .

His absence due to “back pain when warming up”according to the daily The Team, was confirmed by the director of the French teams, Pierre Guichot. The problems are piling up for French fencing, after the ligament injury of Ysaora Thibus, and the muscular discomfort in a hamstring of Yannick Borel. This is the third injury in the French teams in two days.

Winner of four of the six World Cup stages of the season, Sara Balzer does not appear in the group stage table. The 29-year-old shooter had, however, started her warm-up on Wednesday morning without any obvious problem by trotting into the training room at the Halle Saint-Jacques in Basel.