France cuts Paris 2024 Olympic squads to finals fours

France has named eight recurve archers to its Olympic squad for 2024.

Six of the eight athletes will go on to represent the home country at the Games in Paris, with one per gender acting as reserve. The final team will be named after the three stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup season.

Baptiste Addis, Nicolas Bernardi, Thomas Chirault and Rio 2016 silver medallist Jean-Charles Valladont comprise the men’s line-up, with test event runner-up Lisa Barbelin, Amélie Cordeau, Caroline Lopez and Victoria Sebastian representing the women.

“The goal is to get a medal so no matter what team is formed, we all have to want to get that medal,” said Lopez after winning the selection event in Talence on 8-11 January.

Barbelin finished second in the six-strong women’s leaderboard, while Audrey Adiceom was a surprise elimination.

“Audrey not being in the last four is heartbreaking for Lisa and me,” said Lopez. “We spent an extraordinary year together last year and she’s also a very good friend in everyday life, but that’s the law of sport.”

Replacing Adiceom are senior team debutants Cordeau (18) and Sebastian (19).

Youth is a theme in this French line-up, headlined by 17-year-old Batiste Addis, who enters the season ranked 20th in the world after making the quarterfinals at the World Cup stages in Shanghai and Paris – and the European Games – in 2023.

Should he make the final cut, this will likely be the last Olympics for 34-year-old Valladont (2012, 2016).

Only one archer (Romain Fichet) was eliminated from the men’s selection after the early withdrawal of Pierre Plihon due to injury.

The eight members of the French squad will train in Korea during the second half of February before competing at the three stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup in China, Korea and Türkiye, and in the European Championships in Germany, in preparation for the Games.

France will name its final squad for the Olympics at the end of June.

French squad for 2024

• Recurve men: Baptiste Addis, Nicolas Bernardi, Thomas Chirault and Jean-Charles Valladont
• Recurve women: Lisa Barbelin, Amélie Cordeau, Caroline Lopez and Victoria Sebastian