The French team concluded the 2020 Paralympic Games this Sunday (postponed, like the Olympics, due to Covid) with a total of 54 medals, nearly double its total from the Rio Games in 2016 (28). This result is well above the pre-competition goal of 35, ranking them 14th in the medal standings.
The French also did better in terms of titles: 11 gold medals were won in Tokyo, compared to 9 five years ago in Brazil.
“France is proud of you,” tweeted Emmanuel Macron to congratulate the French athletes.
However, the president of the Paralympic Committee, Marie-Amelie Le Fur, regrets the lack of exposure for athletes outside of the Games. For her, the challenge leading up to Paris 2024 is to “maintain visibility over time” that “completely disappears between the Games,”
Looking back to the previous edition, these Tokyo Games are indeed a success for the French delegation, which had won 45 medals (including 8 gold) in London in 2012. And while it remains far behind the Athens 2004 tally (74 medals, including 18 gold), this impressive result closely resembles that of Beijing in 2008 (52 medals, including 12 gold).
