PARIS — Since they haven’t had Les Jeux in this town for a century, it’s understandable that the residents may be startled that the home team is near the top of the medal table behind the Americans and Chinese. That’s how things stand midway through the Games of the XXXIIIrd Olympiad, with France already having collected 44 medals, a dozen of them gold. That’s 11 more than the French won in Tokyo last time and the country’s best showing in 124 years.
With another week to go, the jour de gloire continues and the City of Light is in an exuberant mood. “It is a beautiful adventure,” declared Teddy Riner, the supersized (as in 6-foot-8-inch, 311 pounds) judo fighter who won two gold medals. “The Games at home are something to live.
” Advertisement The Parisians, who originally were skeptical of all this five-ringed fuss, definitely are living this quadrennial fete. The buzz in the brasseries and bistros on both sides of the Seine is palpable. Since many of the venues are within walking distance of one another in the city center — from the Place de la Concorde, to Invalides, to the Grand Palais, to the Champ de Mars — news of each triumph spreads quickly.
Ordinarily Paris goes dormant in August with “Ferme Aout” signs in the windows of shuttered shops and cafes. This summer thousands of locals, dreading snarled traffic and overstuffed subway cars, bailed out early for the beach. But those who stayed have been swept up in Gallic pride as the medals keep piling up.
“The crowd was on fire,” marveled swimmer Leon Marchand after he’d won two of his four gold medals on the same night. “It was insane to live this as a French person.” It’s not so much the size of the gilded motherlode that has delighted the citizenry.
It’s that the victories have come in the events that the French care most about. Rugby is a huge sport here. So when the country’s first gold medal came in men’s sevens with a 28-7 thumping of Fiji, the two-time champions, it was a symbolic skyrocket.
“This medal is staying on my neck for as long as possible,” said back Aaron Grandidier Nkanang. “I’m going to sleep with it, I’m going to go out with it, I’m going to travel with it, I’m going on holiday with it. It is staying glued to my neck.
” Advertisement Riner, who ignited the Olympic cauldron with legendary runner Marie-Jose Perec during the Opening Ceremony, may be the most recognizable athlete in the country. Think of Barry White as a Macy’s Parade balloon. Riner, who’s competing in his fifth Games, once went nearly a decade without losing a match and won gold in both London and Rio de Janeiro.
But could he claim another at 35 after having been upset in Tokyo three years ago? Everyone from Normandy to Nice tuned in Friday to find out. O ippon do Teddy Riner, na conquista da medalha de ouro, hoje, no judô, é a perfeição da modalidade. Coisa de manual de judô.
Numa final! Tô de cara até agora! 🥋 pic.twitter.com/iILbIEvnQU “It’s a good moment for the country,” said Riner, after he’d mastered the Korean world champion.
“All the athletes know this. They want a perfect moment like me today. I hope all French athletes get a medal.
” The judokas won 10, topping the table. That wasn’t unexpected given what the country has done on the mat at recent Games. But in triathlon, where the French never had made an Olympic podium, they won gold in the women’s event and bronze in the men’s.
“To do it in front of our crowd was something that had to be done, and I still can’t believe it,” said Cassandre Beaugrand. It’s no coincidence that athletes performing in front of their cheering countrymen usually make history at the Games. Home cooking is a powerful advantage, and nobody does domestic cuisine better than the French.
Their medals thus far have come across a dozen sports ranging from cycling to canoeing. Advertisement Host countries customarily have their best all-time showing in the medal standings. In this century Australia, Greece, China, Great Britain, Brazil, and Japan all did.
France is guaranteed to win the most medals since it amassed 102 in 1900, which was an Olympics like no other. Those Games, the second in the modern era, were essentially a sideshow to that year’s Paris Exposition, lasting five months. Nearly three quarters of the competitors were French and most of the winners received cups or trophies instead of actual medals.
Sports included angling, ballooning, and motor racing, and many athletes didn’t realize until years later that they’d participated in an Olympics. There’s no doubt that these Games are the real deal, and Parisians are enthralled about how marvelously their side is faring. The men’s soccer team, which knocked out Argentina in the quarterfinals, has a good shot at winning the tournament for the first time in four decades.
But the most cherished gold medal of all would come in men’s basketball. Les Bleus beat the Americans in the Tokyo prelims and lost by only five points in the final. And this time they have Victor Wembanyama, their 7-4 imposer, installed in the paint.
Watching Joel Embiid, the expatriate whom the French still consider one of their own, have to stand at attention for La Marseillaise while wearing a star-spangled uniform would be worth the $10 billion the hosts spent staging these Games. Some Olympic memories have no price tag. John Powers can be reached at john.
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