The 4×100m tricolor universal mixed relay featuring Kévin De Witasse Thézy (Amiens UC) failed to qualify for this Sunday’s Paris Charléty Worlds final.

The French team set the bar very high and took part in the 2nd series Universal mixed relay 4×100 m this Sunday late morning at the World Para Athletics Championships at the Charléty Stadium in Paris. Because the Tricolores found themselves in the toughest race of this innovative event, which was launched in 2018 and has the peculiarity of associating two women To two men and from mixed disabilities : the first visually impaired torchbearer, the second with a missing limb (Kévin de Witasse Thézy was born without a left hand), the third suffers from cerebral palsy and the fourth is in a wheelchair.

Each team has two lanes, which limits the number of teams entered to four. In this case the French Tiffany Logette Lods (with his guide Erwan Le Rolland), Kevin de Witasse Thézy, Mandy Francois Elie And Julien Casoli found themselves in contrast to the British, Canadians and Japanese at the end of the morning session of this penultimate day of competition.

The Amiénois and his teammates had time to attend the first series marked by ten minutes earlier two disqualifications last but not least… AmericanWorld record holder in 45 sec 52 and the Chineseserious underdog and at the top of the medal table (see below), made mistakes and found themselves disqualified! Brazil won so clear inside 49 sec 64an overall average time, two seconds ahead of Germany.
These disqualifications gave another reason for the French team coached by Jo Maisetti Focus on transfersfour years after the World Championships in Dubai and two years after the Tokyo Paralympic Games, where the Blues twice sinned in practice.

A time equivalent to 2nd place in the other series…

The Blues got off to a quick start thanks to the signing of Tiffany Logette-Lods best response time of the two series, before passing the virtual relay, performed at touch Kevin DeWitasse Thezy, eager to do better than his 400m T47 series three days earlier. The Samarian was in fine form ahead of the chaotic passage between Mandy François-Élie and Julien Casoli, replacing Yasser Musanganya at the last minute to complete the final 100 metres.

Result: not a gross technical error, but no miracles not even for the Habs. In 50 sec 45 – a time that would have put them 2nd in the other series – they finished 4th in their race and co-win Great Britain and its canonical chrono of 47 sec 17 ! Second: the Canadians (48 sec 15) and third the Japanese (48 sec 21). A Japanese team that, by the way, will settle in Amiens next summer to complete its preparation for the Paris 2024 games.

Following this series in the form of semi-finals, the four nations qualified The final is scheduled for 9:20 p.m. this Sunday evening, are UK, Canada, Japan and Brazil. The United States, reigning Paralympics champions, will be the biggest absentees after their morning’s disqualification.

Tableau des médailles (à deux jours de la fin)
1. Chine 37 (14 en or)
2. Brésil 34 (12 en or)
3. États-Unis 31 (8 en or)
4.Suisse 12 (8 en or)
5.Grande-Bretagne 19 (7 en or)
6.Ukraine 18 (7 en or)
...
54. France 4 (0 en or, 4 en bronze) 

Vincent Delorme
Photo credit: Théo Begler – Gazette Sports (Archive)