By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) – France have already collected more titles midway through the Paris Olympics than during the whole of the Tokyo and Rio Games after a crazy Friday night that had the home fans listening to three times.
Teddy Riner’s record fourth Olympic title in judo, swimming poster boy Leon Marchand’s fourth and Joris Daudet’s victory in a sensational BMX 1-2-3 took Les Bleus’s gold tally to 11 – one more than in Tokyo three years ago and Rio in 2016.
“Le Jour des Gloires” (The Day of ), said French sports newspaper L’Equipe’s headline on Saturday, a play on a line in the country’s national anthem.
France are second in the medals table with a total of 37 although the second week of competition might not be as successful as the country’s best medal-providing sports – swimming, judo, fencing.
France will have very few chances for a podium finisher in athletics, which started on Friday.
Boxing will, however, bring three more medals as three fighters have reached the last four, guaranteeing at least bronze.
France’s record tally in the post-World War Two era came at the Beijing Games in 2008, when they claimed 43 medals, but only seven golds, while their best performance in terms of titles came in Atlanta in 1996 with 15.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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