Biles, Duplantis, Dressel, Federer, Riner … shower of stars expected and hoped for in Tokyo

Published on : 22/12/2020 – 07:22Modified : 22/12/2020 – 07:20

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Paris (AFP)

Simone Biles to further accentuate her mark in history, Caeleb Dressel to follow in the wake of legend Michael Phelps: a shower of stars is expected in Tokyo from July 23 to August 8.

In the land of judo, Teddy Riner will seek a third unpublished Olympic coronation in heavyweight. On the eve of his forty years, Roger Federer will leave him if he is recovered from his two right knee operations, in search of gold in singles, the only title missing from his immense record.

. Duplantis, the sky as the limit

Armand Duplantis is doing the unthinkable. The gifted Swedish, who grew up in the United States, broke all records in youth pole vault. And it continues in adults.

With his angelic face and the carefree attitude of his 21 years, “Mondo” has twice improved the world record at the start of 2020 (6.17 then 6.18 m indoors) and goes on dizzying jumps, something to be out of date with all speed the heroes of his sport like Sergei Bubka or his childhood idol Renaud Lavillenie.

An Olympic title accompanied by a new record would make him enter the great legend of the Games. And the quality of his opponents (Sam Kendricks, Pïotr Lisek), regularly over 6 m, gives hope for a Homeric competition.

. Biles, THE star announced

Simone Biles is shaping up to be THE star of the Tokyo Games. Her personal history and her public positions after the explosion of the Nassar affair (sexual violence within the American team) – of which she herself was a victim – mean that her aura goes far beyond the borders of her sport. .

After her post-JO-2016 break, the American champion maintained her hegemony without blinking. In 2019, she became the most medalist gymnast in history at the world level (men and women alike), with 25 awards, including 19 in gold. Its longevity, further stretched by the postponement of one year of the Olympics-2020, is exceptional in gymnastics. In Tokyo, where she could bow out at 24, Biles will tackle a new record: that of the greatest number of Olympic coronations for a gymnast. The Soviet Larissa Latynina established it anew in the years 1950-60; it has four at the moment and six will be in play.

. Dressel, the heir

To say he is Michael Phelps’ caliber doesn’t seem like an exaggeration. At 24, Caeleb Dressel, “only” titled in relay in 2016, is still very, very far from the 23 Olympic gold medals record of Phelps. But at the rate of his raids at the Worlds-2017 – seven coronations – and 2019 – eight medals, including six gold – the American sprinter has the means to measure himself against the legend. Especially since the postponement leaves him very quiet: “Why would I be upset to have one more year to extend this dynamic?” He asks.

. Riner for the legend

Becoming the first heavyweight triple Olympic champion in history, in the land of judo, in the Tokyo temple of Nippon Budokan, this is the obsession of Teddy Riner (31 years old).

Since 2007, the French judoka has accumulated more world crowns than anyone: ten precisely, eight in +100 kg, two in all categories. But Riner was rare on the tatami mats throughout the Olympiad: more Worlds since the end of 2017, twenty months of hiatus then, and, in 2020, a long withdrawal from competition with the Covid-19 pandemic. Above all, his vertiginous invincibility of more than nine years ended in early February after 154 fights. A more favorable picture in Tokyo necessarily involves new victories between now and the Olympics.

. Federer, the last chance

There remains one last title behind which Roger Federer still runs: Olympic gold in singles – he won the doubles with Stan Wawrinka in 2008 in Beijing. Convalescent and absent in 2016 in Rio, beaten in the final in 2012 in his garden at Wimbledon, the Swiss, who will turn forty on August 8, the day of the closing ceremony, will have a new, and undoubtedly last, opportunity to conquer it. On condition of having recovered from his double operation on the right knee undergone in early 2020.

. Mbappé like Neymar?

In Tokyo, football hopes to attract news of its superstars with Kylian Mbappé, after Neymar at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. The French world champion (2018) who will be 22 next summer, has applied, but his club, Paris SG, is not very hot.

© 2020 AFP

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