who are the Lorraine athletes qualified for the Olympic Games

About ten athletes from the region, mainly from Moselle, are already assured of participating in the Olympic Games. A handful of others are waiting for their official selections. Review of the squad.

A few days before the opening of the Olympic Games, the Lorraine delegation is taking shape. Here is the list of athletes who will represent France this summer in Paris.

• Yann Schrub (athletics: 10,000m / 5,000m). The 28-year-old from Moselle has long since secured his ticket to the 10,000 metres at the Olympics. A distance in which he has just won the silver medal at the European Championships in Rome, after having already won bronze in 2022. The medical student, who put his final year on hold to prepare for the Games, is constantly gaining momentum. This winter, he became the first Frenchman in history to become a European cross-country champion. The Sarreguemines native wants to make the most of these Games. Given that he achieved the Olympic minimums in the 5,000 metres (he also became French champion in the distance), he has decided to also line up in this event at the Stade de France with the ambition of reaching the final. Faced with competition, particularly from Africa, he is aiming for a place among the top eight in the 10,000 metres.
• Auriana Lazraq-Khlass (athletics: heptathlon). The 25-year-old Messina seems capable of anything. Crowned French champion in the spring, she walked on water during the European Championships in Rome. After beating or equaling six of her personal bests in the seven heptathlon events, she won a sublime silver medal and her ticket to the Games. Revelation of the world championships in Budapest in 2023, the combined events specialist thrives on the atmosphere of major competitions and should bring a breath of fresh air to the Stade de France track.

• Clémence Beretta (athletics: 20 km walk). The 26-year-old from Vosges is the leader of French race walking. She qualified for the Games in March in China, breaking her own French record (1h28’44). After seven years at the Creps in Nancy, Clémence returned to settle in the Vosges in 2021. She now trains with Pierre, her father, who is president of the Remiremont athletics club. Sixth in the European Championships in 2022, she could only do seventh in Rome last June. She could also be chosen to form the mixed marathon walking relay. An event that will make its debut at these Olympic Games.

• Lisa Barbelin (Archery). Surprise guest of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the 24-year-old Mosellan arrives in Paris full of ambitions and confidence. Last summer, during the test event of the Games in the majestic setting of Les Invalides, she won the silver medal, her best result in the World Cup. In August, the Insep resident will aim for the podium in individual and team events. The French women have serious chances of a medal: Lisa Barbelin, Caroline Lopez and Amélie Cordeau have just been crowned European champions a month ago. The native of Ley (Moselle) should also be selected for the mixed event.
• Caroline Lopez (Archery). At only 20 years old, Mosellane’s track record is already impressive. Multiple world medalist in the youth categories, she joined the French senior team very early and completed her collection of charms. A meteoric rise, which Caroline Lopez sometimes had difficulty digesting, particularly during individual competitions. But the archer from Cheminot (Moselle) remains very reliable as a team. The title of European champion won with Les Bleues in May allowed her to build up her confidence.

• Magda Wiet-Henin (Taekwondo). Substitute in Rio in 2016, prematurely eliminated in Tokyo in 2021, the 28-year-old from Nancy wants to shine during these home Games. For two seasons, Magda has dominated her under 67 kg category. Crowned world champion in 2023, she has just won the silver medal at the European Championships. To perform in Paris, the Insep resident worked a lot on managing her stress and emotions.

• Hugo Beurey (Rowing). The 26-year-old from Nancy got his ticket down to the wire during the Olympic qualifying regattas in May. In Lucerne (Switzerland), he won the lightweight doubles final with his teammate Ferdinand Ludwig. A relief after months of doubts and struggles. While they had made a thunderous start to the 2023 season (two podiums including a victory in the World Cup), the French were unable to defend their chances during the world championships, the main gateway to the Olympics, because Hugo had fallen ill. Pneumonia then prevented him from training until January. The first rower from Nancy Water Sports (SNN) to qualify for the Olympics, Hugo Beurey will play his luck to the fullest, because his category will disappear from the Games in 2028.

• Benoît Brunet (Rowing). This time it’s the right one! After failing to qualify during the three previous editions, Benoît Brunet will be able to compete in the Olympic basin of Vaires-sur-Marne this summer. The adopted Lorraine – he arrived at Pôle France in Nancy in 2009 – will be part of the front four with Thibaud Turlan, Guillaume Turlan and Téo Rayet. The four men qualified their boat last September by taking sixth place at the world championships in Serbia. Bronze medalist at the European Championships for the last two seasons, Benoît Brunet, who will celebrate his 33rd birthday before the Games, was named French rower of the year 2023.
• Lucas Kryzs (sport shooting). At 23, Meurthe-et-Mosellan will discover the Olympics. Originally from Baccarat and licensed in Nitting (Moselle), he has been training at Insep for several seasons. A regular finalist in international competitions, he was selected for three rifle events: 50 meters 3 positions, 10 meters and 10 meters mixed teams. A category in which he became European vice-champion in February with the Alsatian Océanne Muller. During the Games, the sports shooting competitions will take place at the Châteauroux National Center (Indre).

Ugo Humbert (Tennis). The 26-year-old from Metz will be taking part in his second Olympic Games. In Tokyo, he had a great run, reaching the quarter-finals. In Japan, he became friends with Jérémy Chardy, who is now his coach and who helped him take a step forward. Having performed very well over the past year (winning three tournaments including the ATP 500 in Dubai), Ugo Humbert is now ranked sixteenth in the world and number one in France. The only downside: the clay of Roland Garros is not his favourite surface.

• Simon Delestre (riding: show jumping). Barring a huge surprise, the 43-year-old rider from Moselle should be taking part in his fourth Olympic Games. The French Equestrian Federation should make his selection official in the coming days. Currently seventh in the world rankings, Simon Delestre has shone in recent months on the international circuit with his mounts Amelusina and Dexter Fontenis. With the French team, he has just won the fourth round of the Nations Cup in Rotterdam, with two clear rounds. After breaking a rein in London in 2012, after seeing his horse get injured the day before the competition in Rio in 2016, after missing out on a medal with the Blues in Tokyo in 2021 following a refusal by one of his teammates’ horses, Simon Delestre hopes this time to reach the podium individually and/or as a team in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles.
• Sarah Bouktit (women’s handball). The player from Mont-Saint-Martin (Meurthe-et-Moselle) is in the middle of Olympic preparation with the French team, which will defend its title at the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Lille this summer. Coach Olivier Krumbholz will soon announce the list of 17 players (14 + 3 reserves) who will participate in the Games and the young Metz Handball pivot (21 years old) should be part of it. Named best European player in her position this season, Sarah Bouktit has made her place among the Bleues, crowned world champions last December. At the Olympics, she should be reunited with two of her partners in Metz: Chloé Valentini and Lucie Granier, as well as Metz recruit Laura Flippes.
• Vincent Gérard (men’s handball). Olympic vice-champion in 2016, Olympic champion in 2021, the 35-year-old Mosellan launched one last challenge before retiring from sport: participating in the Paris Olympics. Injured at the start of the season, the goalkeeper from Woippy (Moselle) preferred to leave the prestigious German club Kiel, which no longer counted on him, to relaunch in the French second division with Istres. A winning bet, since he was selected for Olympic preparation with two other goalkeepers. He has a chance of being part of the list of 17 players (14 + 3 reserves) who will try to offer France its fourth Olympic title in five Olympics.

• Félix Bour (athletics: marathon). The 30-year-old from Meus achieved the minimum marathon time (2h06’46) in Valencia last December, but four other French people clocked better times than him. He therefore finds himself the first substitute. In the event of injury or dispute (Mehdi Frère, one of the French marathoners is currently provisionally suspended by the federation), Félix would be selected for these first Games.