President Hollande welcomes French medallists

By Robert Fawdon, Paris, France, Dec 1, 2016: French Olympians and Paralympians who won medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games today joined the President of the French Republic, Francois Hollande, at the Elysee Palace for a special celebration to mark Team France’s record-breaking performance at this year’s Games. Following his attendance at the Olympic Games in Rio to meet athletes and support the Paris 2024 bid, President Hollande today reaffirmed the top-down, cross-party political backing for the bid.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games were the most successful ever for Team France athletes who brought home 42 medals, including 10 Gold, across a range of sports. A total of 396 French athletes competed in Rio – another record for Team France. The 126 French Paralympians competing at the Games also won 28 medals, including nine Gold.

The athlete delegation at the Elysee Palace today was led by Paris 2024 Athletes’ Committee Co-Chairs Teddy Riner (double Olympic Champion, Judo) and Marie Amelie Le Fur (triple Paralympic Champion, Athletics).

The following members of the Paris 2024 Bid Committee were also present to pay tribute to the fantastic achievements of the athletes:

• Paris 2024 Co-Chairman, Bernard Lapasset
• Paris 2024 CEO and Olympian, Etienne Thobois
• Paris 2024 Sports Director and double Olympic medallist, Jean-Philippe Gatien
• Paris 2024 Advisor and Olympic Champion, Thierry Rey
• Paris 2024 Deputy CEO, Michaël Aloïsio

President of the French Republic, Francois Hollande, said:

“I would like to congratulate all of our Olympians and Paralympians for their fantastic performances at Rio 2016. Their hunger and desire to compete at the very best of their ability for their country is a huge inspiration to us all. Their passion, spirit and enthusiasm will continue to spur us on as we aim to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Paris in 2024.”

Bernard Lapasset, added:

“This wonderful celebration of elite sporting performance and Olympic values fills us with inspiration and fuels even further our ambition to deliver a thrilling Games of passion and purpose with real benefits for Paris, France and the rest of the world in 2024. The athletes are the heartbeat of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and this is why we have made them the architects of the bid. We will continue to harness their ideas, energy and drive as we fine-tune our bid plans.

“I would like to thank President Hollande for welcoming us here today. Following the President’s attendance in Rio to visit the athletes and support our bid, this celebration is further proof of the top-down, cross-party political commitment from the French government towards the Olympic Movement, the Paris 2024 bid and elite sport across the country.”

Paris 2024 Athletes’ Committee Co-Chair and double Olympic Champion, Teddy Riner, said:

“It is amazing to be here at the Elysee Palace with my fellow Olympians and Paralympians for a great celebration of our record-breaking achievements at Rio 2016. It is every athletes dream to compete at the Olympic Games, so to compete at a home Games would be truly incredible. The Paris 2024 bid has huge support from France’s athlete community and the national sports movement will continue to put their collective energy into bringing the Games to Paris and delivering a spectacular celebration of sport and Olympism in 2024.”

The Olympians and Paralympians in attendance at today’s celebration include:

Olympians

Rowing
Jérémie AZOU – Gold
Pierre HOUIN – Gold
Thomas BAROUKH – Bronze
Thibault COLARD – Bronze
Guillaume RAINEAU – Bronze
Franck SOLFOROSI – Bronze

Boxing
Tony YOKA – Gold
Estelle MOSSELY – Gold
Sarah OURAHMOUNE – Silver
Sofiane OUMIHA – Silver
Souleymane CISSOKHO – Bronze
Mathieu BAUDERLIQUE – Bronze

Canoë-Kayak
Denis GARGAUD – Gold
Maxime BEAUMONT – Silver
Gauthier KLAUSS – Bronze
Matthieu PECHE – Bronze

Equestrian
Karim LAGHOUAG – Gold
Mathieu LEMOINE – Gold
Astier NICOLAS – Gold
Thibaut VALLETTE – Gold
Roger-Yves BOST – Gold
Pénélope LEPREVOST– Gold
Philippe ROZIER – Gold
Kevin STAUT – Gold

Fencing
Yannick BOREL – Gold
Gauthier GRUMIER – Gold
Daniel JERENT – Gold
Jean-Michel LUCENAY – Gold

Judo
Teddy RINER – Gold
Emilie ANDEOL – Gold
Clarisse AGBEGNENOU – Silver
Audrey TCHEUMEO – Silver
Cyrille MARET – Bronze

Sailing
Charline PICON – Gold
Hélène DEFRANCE – Bronze
Camille LECOINTRE – Bronze
Pierre LE COQ – Bronze

Athletics – Decathlon
Kévin MAYER – Silver

Athletics – Discus
Mélina ROBERT-MICHON – Silver

Athletics – Pole Vault
Renaud LAVILLENIE – Silver

Athletics – 110m Hurdles
Dimitri BASCOU – Bronze

Athletics – 200m
Christophe LEMAITRE – Bronze

Athletics – 3000m Steeplechase
Bronze Mahiedine MEKHISSI-BENABBAD – Bronze

Equestrian
Astier NICOLAS – Silver

Fencing
Jérémy CADOT – Silver
Erwann LE PECHOUX – Silver
Enzo LEFORT – Silver
Jean-Paul TONY-HELISSEY – Silver
Gauthier GRUMIER – Bronze

Handball
Camille AYGLON – Silver
Chloé BULLEUX – Silver
Blandine DANCETTE – Silver
Siraba DEMBELE – Silver
Béatrice EDWIGE – Silver
Laura GLAUSER – Silver
Tamara HORACEK – Silver
Manon HOUETTE – Silver
Alexandra LACRABERE – Silver
Laurisa LANDRE – Silver
Amandine LEYNAUD – Silver
Gnonsiane NIOMBLA – Silver
Estelle NZE MINKO – Silver
Allison PINEAU – Silver
Marie PROUVENTIER – Silver
Grâce ZAADI – Silver
Luc ABALO – Silver
Adrien DIPANDA – Silver
Ludovic FABREGAS – Silver
Vincent GERARD – Silver
Mathieu GREBILLE – Silver
Michaël GUIGOU – Silver
Luka KARABATIC – Silver
Nikola KARABATIC – Silver
Kentin MAHÉ – Silver
Timothey N’GUESSAN – Silver
Daniel NARCISSE – Silver
Olivier NYOKAS – Silver
Thierry OMEYER – Silver
Valentin PORTE – Silver
Cédric SORHAINDO – Silver

Swimming
Fabien GILOT – Silver
Florent MANAUDOU – Silver
Mehdy METELLA – Silver
William MEYNARD – Silver
Clément MIGNON – Silver
Jérémy STRAVIUS – Silver

Swimming Marathon
Marc-Antoine OLIVIER – Bronze

Modern Pentathlon
Elodie CLOUVEL – Silver

Taekwondo
Haby NIARE – Silver

Shooting
Jean QUIQUAMPOIX – Silver
Alexis RAYNAUD – Bronze

Archery
Jean-Charles VALLADONT– Silver

Cycling Track
Grégory BAUGE – Bronze
Mickaël D’ALMEIDA – Bronze
François PERVIS – Bronze

Paralympians

Athletics & Long Jump T44
Marie-Amélie LE FUR – Gold

Athletics 400m T13
Nantenin KEITA – Gold

Athletics 100m T37
Mandy FRANCOIS-ELIE – Silver

Athletics 800m and 400m T53
Pierre FAIRBANK – Silver, Bronze

Athletics 1500m T38
Louis RADIUS – Bronze

Judo 52kg B2
Sandrine MARTINET – Gold

Table Tennis class 2
Fabien LAMIRAULT – Gold

Table Tennis Team Event Class 1-2
Fabien LAMIRAUT – Gold
Stéphane MOLIENS – Gold
Jean-François DUCAY – Gold

Table Tennis Class 3
Florian MERRIEN – Bronze

TableTennis Class 4
Maxime THOMAS – Bronze

Table Tennis class 8
Thu KAMKASOMPHOU – Silver

Fencing
Romain NOBLE – Gold
Robert CITERNE – Gold
Yannick IFEBE – Gold

Fencing A-B
Damien TOKATLIAN – Bronze
Ludovic LEMOINE – Bronze
Maxime VALET – Bronze

Tennis Doubles
Stéphane HOUDET – Gold
Nicolas PEIFER – Gold

Sailing 2.4
Damien SEGUIN – Gold

Weightlifting 73kg
Souhad GHAZOUANI – Silver

Swimming 50m Freestyle S4
David SMETANINE – Silver

Swimming 100m and 400 Freestyle S10
Elodie LORANDI – Bronze

Rowing TAMix2x
Perle BOUGE – Bronze
Stéphane TARDIEU – Bronze

Triathlon PT4
Gwladys LEMOUSSU

Long Jump T45-46-47
Arnaud ASSOUMANI – Bronze

Cycling H4
Joël JEANNOT – Bronze

Canoë kayak 200m KL3
Cindy MOREAU – Bronze