Agbegnu condemned the “discriminatory” criteria for selection of flag bearers

Clarisse Agbégnénou condemned the discriminatory criteria for the selection of standard bearers for the French delegation during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Already the flag bearer at Tokyo 2021, he will not be eligible for the honor again.

The French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) will unveil this Wednesday the criteria for selecting the standard bearers of the French delegation during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. But many of them have already filtered out, eliminating countless candidates like superstar Kylian Mbappé. , Antoine Dupont and Victor Wambayama for their lack of Olympic experience but also former porters like judoka Clarisse Agbegnou who paraded at the head of the procession during the last Tokyo Olympics in 2021 with gymnast Samir At Said.

“A small handful of people arbitrarily promulgate new rules”

These reasons for exclusion do not please the double Olympic champion at all (individually in the -63 kg category and in teams). She took offense to a survey on X (formerly Twitter) that showed the French’s preferences for some unselectable athletes. “Exceptionally, this poll comes at the right time,” she wrote Tuesday. “There are French and figures who express a certain desire and on the other hand people work behind the scenes to impose discriminatory conditions to appoint standard bearers.”

She clarified her comments to several people, pointing out that it was legitimate to pass her turn after already receiving the honor. “I’ve never said other athletes don’t deserve it, just like I don’t claim to be the ‘chosen ones’, I’m just saying that it’s up to the athletes to decide who their leaders will be and not the little ones. A handful of people who arbitrarily Announces new rules.” “What is the point of imposing a discriminatory rule when all other countries/delegations have no such thing? It is difficult for some people to get the concept of fairness,” she added.

Clarisse Agbégnénou recently admitted that she is not against reliving this unique experience. “If we have the right, why not?” she said. This will not be the case. According to Le Parisien, all athletes selected for the Olympic Games will vote in early July to choose two candidates (one man and one woman) who meet the criteria announced this Wednesday. In Tokyo in 2021, the vote of the “ambassadors” of the Olympic Federation determined two standard bearers.

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