“We’re trying to mourn these Games”… Back in the shadow of the Olympic discipline, karateka is trying to project itself into the future.

He will be notably absent from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Appearing for the first time in its history at the games to be held in Tokyo in 2021, karate was not selected for the following edition, much to the disappointment of karateka. More than two years after the official announcement of karate’s withdrawal from additional Olympic Games and six months before the Paris Games, bitterness remains strong.

“We’re trying to mourn Paris 2024, but we can only really do that after the Olympics. We’re sports fans, so we’re not going to shy away from the Games this summer either, but they’ll be a depressing side to watch. Without karate”, Testifies Olivier Beaudry, manager of the French team at the French Karate Federation, who is not convinced “Reply to all messages you receive”.

“Shock is a big word, but I have definitely turned the page, not on the Olympic Games, but on Paris, because we did not choose this decision, Olympic champion in 2021 and three-time world champion Steven da Costa gives confidence in the discipline. We have no choice but to face it. But it sure is sad. ” With the Olympics being held at home, in France, the wound is all the more acute. “It is a double punishment, supports the latter. If the Games had been hosted in a country other than France in 2024, perhaps the pain would have been a little less severe.”

Falling back into the shadows “darker than before”

Above all, the spotlight was more than fleeting. Because karate was not selected for the 2028 Games as well. “As much as Paris was a great disappointment, for Los Angeles I was not surprised. It was certain that the organizers were going to choose sports that are widely practiced in the United States, and they are right because they choose the discipline where they have the potential for medals. – Winner (Cricket, Baseball-Softball, Squash, Flag Football and Lacrosse)“, Analyzes Steven Da Costa.

While the Games have the merit of giving the discipline ten times the media exposure as well as greater financial benefits (especially with sponsors), karate has slowly returned to the shadows of the Olympic discipline. A shadow “A little blacker than before, Repentance Steven Da Costa. After experiencing the great light in Tokyo, the return is darker than before, because we have lost more than what we already had. Abounds in karateka.

“Before, we were a sport that was fighting to get to the Games. We got used to living like an Olympic sport for four years. That’s why it’s a bit deep to go back to the shadows, after the light.”

Steven Da Costa, Olympic Karate Champion

On franceinfo: sports

The other side of the coin is also felt financially, even for the only Olympic champion in history in his category (-67 kg).. “I lost 50% of my sponsors, He notes. Some, despite everything, have turned back as Paris 2024 approaches because, even if I’m not at the Games, I’ll still be Olympic champion and we’ll talk about the absence of karate.”

A perpetual impossibility

If the IOC decided in December 2020 and therefore approved the addition of four new sports (climbing, surfing, breaking and skateboarding) for Paris 2024, Olivier Beaudry nevertheless believed until the last moment that the decision could be reversed. “We hoped that if the Games in Tokyo were well organized, the spectacle lived up to expectations and the enthusiasm was there, the decision might be different. Especially with or from Steven’s medal, we told ourselves he could do things. be”

France misses the team manager.

“I was on cloud nine. It hurts to wake up. In 2024, with your support, I want to defend my Olympic title in Paris,” French karateka also claimed on X (formerly Twitter) on August 12, 2021, when Paris 2024 once again announced the withdrawal of the discipline. Even the president of the French Karate Federation could not do anything. “It’s impossible (to interfere with the decision), Francis assures Didier. It’s like in the Vatican, you have to wait for white or black smoke.” Even today there is a huge misunderstanding in the karate family.

“We felt a little alone and helpless. We didn’t understand why.”

Olivier Beaudry, manager of the French karate team

On franceinfo: sports

“We had no real response to this selection of Kojop to the IOC not proposing karate as an additional sport. Other than that we needed a discipline that was popular among the youth. We felt that it was unfair in terms of its profile. A universal discipline, whose values ​​coincide with Olympism. It’s disappointing”, Oliver Beaudry is sorry.

“Where I was angry with them was that they did not propose karate in their list of new sports. Then, the decision-maker remains the IOC. But when I came to bring back the Olympic gold, they did not fight for us”, Hurts Steven Da Costa.

However, the organizing committee assured franceinfo: sport that it had met the Olympic champion as well as the president of the federation on the subject. Kojop also spoke publicly in early February 2019 to justify his choice: “Paris 2024 therefore offers the IOC the integration of four new sports linked to youth, promoting the creativity and performance of athletes: breaking, climbing, skateboarding and surfing. These are four sports, accessible in practical terms and socially strongly integrated with communities. Networks, thanks to games, will be able to inspire millions of kids to play games in the next five years. Cojop wrote.

A limited number of sports and athletes

Then, on August 12, 2021, Steven da Costa’s Olympic title and forced to react after trying to reverse his stance in the media, the organizers once again justified their decision. While remembering that “As of December 2020, the program of events for the Paris 2024 Games is final and cannot be changed”. Kojop made it clear “Since the Tokyo 2020 Games, the IOC has given Olympic Games organizing committees the opportunity to add additional sports without guaranteeing inclusion in the next edition of the Games.”

But above all, Paris 2024 emphasizes new rules regarding the proposal of additional sports. “Athletes of the new Games are now included in the overall quota of athletes, which is 10,500, and no longer in the additional quota as in Tokyo 2020. As a result, the number of additional sports for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is 4. And not 5 as in Tokyo, and the number of athletes for these Games has more than halved, increasing from 474 (including 80 for karate) to 232.

A final argument that did not convince Francis Didier. “We are a small global delegation. There was plenty to do,” He disputes that. Although the CoJops are not limited in the number of disciplines, they must respect certain limits: 10,500 athletes, 5,000 coaches and support staff and 310 events. This is why Paris offered four additional games while Tokyo and Los Angeles increased to five. For its part, the IOC has priority “Ensure that the Olympic program remains relevant, including elements of innovation while respecting the history and tradition of the sport”, Emphasis on franceinfo: international organization sport.

Goal Brisbane 2032

Although the subject is still alive, the French federation now wants to turn to the post-Paris 2024 period. “Subject closed, we must close the book. If you don’t close it, you won’t be able to move on and look to the future.” Its president supports Francis Didier.

For the federation, the ambition is now to have karate return to the Olympic Games in 2032 in Brisbane (Australia). “The battle is on, Oliver Beaudry says. We are still committed to getting karate into the Olympics one day and the next opportunity is 2032.”

But there is still a long way to go. “It is still a little early, especially since this is the last mandate of IOC President Thomas Bach. (Until 2025). So the body will change.” It emphasizes again. But karateko has not spoken his last word.