In the past, athletes from the host nation have enjoyed great success at the Olympic Games.
Those from People’s Republic of China won 58.7 per cent more medals at Beijing 2008 compared to the previous edition of the Games. For Brits at London 2012 the number was 27.5 per cent, while for Brazilians at Rio 2016 it was 11.8 per cent and for Japanese athletes at Tokyo 2020 41.5 per cent.
At next year’s Games, it will be French athletes in the spotlight, and with one year to go until Paris 2024 which begins on July 26 2024, Olympics.com takes a look at the top stars and prospects to keep your eyes on over the next 12 months and during the Games.
Léon Marchand, swimming, 21 years old
Léon Marchand is preparing to excite his home crowd at Paris 2024 in the individual medley.
Following a 6th place finish at Tokyo 2020 in the 400m, the swimmer became world champion in the 200m and 400m in Budapest, with a European record in the longer distance.
In addition, he won a silver medal in the 200m butterfly, coming home just behind the master of the event and Olympic champion, Kristóf Milák of Hungary.
He also thrived in the NCAA 2023 season, clinching three records in the 200 and 400 yards medley as well as the 200 yards breaststroke.
If you need another reason to be excited: Marchand is coached by Bob Bowman, the former mentor of the G.O.A.T. Michael Phelps.
Speaking of Phelps, Marchand recently made history by breaking the great man's last standing world record, winning the 400 metres individual medley in a time of 4:02.50 at the World Aquatics Championships in f*ckuoka, Japan.
Expectations are high for him to excel when he competes at the next Olympics in Paris.
MORE: Léon Marchand's connection to Michael Phelps
Oriane Bertone, sport climbing, 18 years old
At the age of 18, Oriane Bertone already has an impressive list of achievements and is one of the world’s top female bouldering climbers. She ended the 2021 season in third place in the World Cup standings before confirmation of her talent would arrive in 2022.
Bertone reached the final of the season opener in Meirngen and followed it up with a second-place finish in Seoul. At the European Championships in Munich she took bronze to consolidate her status as one of the future stars in the discipline.
In 2023, she continued her excellent form, with two second places in Seoul and Salt Lake City followed by a victory in Prague on 4 June.
Her strength in the event will make her one of the climbers to watch ahead of Paris 2024 where she will aim to qualify for the combined boulder/lead event. She was the world youth champion in both disciplines in 2019.
LISTEN - Podcast with Oriane Bertone
Kylian Mbappé, football, 24 years old
After a stunning World Cup where he finished as the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals and narrowly lost the final with France, Kylian Mbappé is one of the most exciting stars of the football world.
Having already become a world champion in 2018 at only 19 years old, becoming the youngest player since Pelé in 1958 to score in a final, the Paris-born talent has already scored more world cup goals (12) than Cristiano Ronaldo (8), Thierry Henry (6) and Zinedine Zidane (5).
He told l’Équipe that he dreams about playing for France at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, saying: “The Games are the reference in sport, the absolute Holy Grail that every athlete wants to compete in and experience at least once in their lifetime.”
With club side PSG, Mbappe scored 41 goals in the 2022/23 season, including 29 in the French Championship and seven in the UEFA Champions League. He was also chosen as the best player in the French Championship for the fourth year in a row.
- Kylian Mbappe at FIFA World Cup: Records, goals and stats
Laëtitia Guapo, Basketball 3x3, 27 years old
Prior to the Tokyo 2020 debut of basketball 3x3, Laëtitia Guapo was considered to be the world number one. But while that was a title in name alone, by 2022 she had turned that reputation into gold medals.
It started with a World Cup victory in June, France’s first, which was won alongside Myriam Djekoundade, Hortense Limouzin and Marie-Ève Paget. She was also named MVP of the tournament.
A few months later, Guapo became European Champion, winning the third continental title in France’s history.
Guapo also plays 5v5 basketball with the French club Bourges and won the French League title and EuroCup in the same year.
In 2023, Guapo and France finished second at the World Cup, losing against the USA in the final. Since July, she has been dedicated solely to 3x3 with the goal of winning gold at Paris 2024.
Victor Wembanyama, basketball, 19 years old
Victor Wembanyama was chosen by San Antonio Spurs as the first choice in the 2023 NBA Draft. But nobody imagined it would be any different. The 19-year-old has a unique profile in the world of basketball.
For a player who is 2.19m tall, his technical skill is an anomaly, with even the great LeBron James hailing his talent.
“We’re labeling like this unicorn thing—everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years,” James said. “But he’s more like an alien—no one has seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor.”
In 2023, along with his French club Metropolitans 92, Wemby (as he’s known) finished the regular season with an average of 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 3 blocks per game before averaging 17.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 blocks during the Playoffs.
He landed in the USA with the status of superstar and during his second match in the NBA Summer League in July against Portland, he finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds with 9/14 shooting.
Wembanyama won't compete in the 2023 FIBA World Cup but that will only add to the excitement when he turns out for France at Paris 2024.
READ ALSO - Victor Wembanyama on Paris 2024: "It's not an option. I'll be at the Olympics."
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, mountain bike, 31 years old
While the veteran mountain biker suffered a flat tire at the 2023 European Championships in June, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot had previously enjoyed a stunning 2022. After a disappointing Tokyo 2020 where she finished 10th after falling while in the lead, she turned all her attention to the 2022 Worlds in France in September.
For the entire season, Ferrand-Prevot failed to win anything before heading to Les Gets for the big one, where she proved her strategy to focus on the Worlds was the right one. Taking the lead after the first hills, she never gave up her position, winning her fourth world title in the XCO event and 15th in all events.
She followed her victory up with a win in the final World Cup stage in Italy and won another world title in MTB marathon, before again triumphing in the inaugural Gravel World Championships race. She’ll be one of the favourites for a first Olympic gold after missing out on the titles at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Kevin Mayer, Athletics, 31 years old
In 2022, Kevin Mayer returned to the top. After winning a second Olympic silver in a row at Tokyo 2020, he headed to the World Athletics Championships in Eugene aiming for gold.
During the initial stages of the decathlon competition he was not at his best but, like a true champion, he found another gear, winning his second world title after his first in 2017.
The victory in the Worlds made him part of an exclusive club of French double world champions that includes Marie-José Pérec, Eunice Barber, Stéphane Diagana and Ladji Doucouré.
This year, the world record holder (9,126 points) will attempt to win a third world title when he competes from 19 to 27 August in Budapest. It will be the final major competition before Paris 2024, where he'll be one of the most popular athletes competing in Stade de France.
Coline Devillard, artistic gymnastics, 22 years old
For the first time since 2009, a French woman has won an individual medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Coline Devillard took third place on vault in Liverpool in October 2022.
The 22-year-old gymnast scored an average of 14.166 points in the final and was only beaten by the USA’s Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles. The leading trio also dominated qualification in the same order.
Devillard followed this up with the European title, also on vault, in April 2023. So what’s next? The gymnast explained her ambitions to Olympics.com.
“Paris is the goal. It can only be good. It’s at home and everyone will be there. My parents can come and see me if I make it and that’s huge. Frankly, it’s very good. We know the country, we know the city, we know the people, we’re right at home! We’ve got everything we need to make it huge.”
Alexis and Félix Lebrun, table tennis, 19 and 16 years old
Alexis and Félix Lebrun have disrupted the table tennis world over the past two years. Having sat outside world top 1000 in November 2021, they are now both in the top 20.
Last April, Alexis, the older of the two, beat China’s world number one Fan Zhendong before winning bronze at the European Games 2023 in June. It was his first individual international medal.
However, his young brother, who uses a penhold grip that's usually the reserve of athletes from Asia, won gold at the European Games in Poland. Two Lebrun brothers sharing the podium is an excellent sign of what they can do in upcoming competitions.
“[Félix] thinks the same as me, this is just the beginning and we have many more years in front of us. We are going to try to aim for something even bigger,” Alexis Lebrun told Olympics.com after the European Games 2023 Medal ceremony.
LIRE AUSSI - Meet the teenage French brothers ready to conquer the table tennis world
Clarisse Agbégnénou, judo, 30 years old
After her silver medal at Rio 2016, Clarisse Agbégnénou had only one ambition: winning gold at Tokyo 2020. This goal was achieved by toppling Slovenia’s Tina Trstenjak, who had beaten her in 2016 in the -63 kg class.
The Frenchwoman had now won every title possible, and after the Olympics decided to take a break from the sport to become a mother, giving birth to Athéna on June 15, 2022.
Agbégnénou resumed training in early 2023 with the ambition of shining in front of her home crowd at Paris 2024. For her international comeback at the 2023 World Judo Championships 2023 last May, she clinched her sixth world title, winning all her matches by ippon.
“I couldn’t have dreamed of anything better. I knew the road was going to be very, very hard. Almost eleven months after giving birth, I’m back. I know there are still things to work on for the Paris 2024 Olympics, but in the meantime, I’m bringing home my sixth world title. I can only be proud, proud of my daughter, proud of the people around me,” Gnougnou told La Chaîne L’Équipe.
