Record number of athletes named to French Worlds team

"Five athletes make their debit for the French team in Lyon, joining their team-mates who won 13 athletics medals in total at London 2012"

A record number of French athletes have been named to the national team who will compete in their home country at the 2013 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in Lyon.

Amongst the 33 athletes and four guides featured is Marie-Amelie Le Fur who will go head to head with the Netherlands’ Marlou van Rhijn in a repeat of the 100m T44 final at London 2012 where Le Fur won gold. Le Fur will also compete in the 200m, 400m and long jump F/T44 in her third World Championships. In Christchurch in 2011, Le Fur collected gold in both 100m and 200m events.

Reigning 100m T37 Paralympic Champion Mandy Francois-Elie will also travel to Lyon. Francois-Elie collected her gold in London ahead of Namibian Johanna Benson who triumphed in the 200m event which Francois-Elie will also enter in Lyon.

In the men’s events, Julien Casoli will race over 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m as well as the marathon (T54) and will be looking to use the home crowds to his advantage and better his bronze-medal performance in London, as well as his previous two bronze medal wins over 800m and 5,000m in Christchurch.

Great Britain’s David Weir and Australian Kurt Fearnley have both ruled themselves out of Lyon, so Casoli will face Swiss Silver Bullet Marcel Hug, who finished behind Casoli in London.

On the field, Paralympic silver medallist Tony Falelavaki will compete in the javelin F44. In London Falelavaki picked up bronze, 0.32m behind China’s Mingjie Gao who set a new Paralympic record with a throw of 58.53m.

Arnoud Assoumani is another experienced member of the French team who will compete in the 100m and long jump T/F46. Making his third appearance at a World Championship event, Assoumani previously collected gold in 2006 in Assen, Netherlands and again in Christchurch in 2011. In London, he won silver with a season’s best jump of 7.13m, just 0.02 behind China’s Fuliang Liu. He also finished third in the 100m T46 in Christchurch.

Five athletes make their debit for the French team in Lyon, joining their team-mates who won 13 athletics medals in total at London 2012 – four gold, four silver and five bronze. At the last World Championships in Christchurch, they picked up 16 medals – eight gold, four silver and four bronze.

Women

Virginie Dreux, long jump F20

Mandy Francois-Elie, 100m and 200m T37

Anais Jaron, 100m, 200m and long jump T/F38

Marie Amelie Le Fur, 100m, 200m, 400m and long jump T/F44

Orianne Lopez, 100m and long jump F/T42

Elvina Vidot, 100m 200m and long jump T/F11

Rose Welepa, discus F12

Men

Timothee Adophe, 200m and 200m T11

Alain Akakpo, long jump T46

Jean-Baptiste Alaize, 100m and long jump T/F44

Arnaud Assoumani, 100m and long jump T/F46

Valentin Bertrand, 400m T37

Alexandre Boukhelifa, 100m and 200m T37

Nicolas Brignone 100m, 200m and 400m T53

Julien Casoli, 800m, 1,500, 5,000 and marathon T54

Bacou Dambakate, 100m and long jump T/F13

Hyacinthe Deleplace, 400m T12

Alix Delorme, 800m and 1,500m T36

Eric Etienne, discus F42

Pierre Fairbank, 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m T53

Tony Falelavaki, javelin F44

Alain Fuss, marathon T54

Clavel Kayirare, 100m and 200m T42

Denis Lemuenier, 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon T54

Tresor Makunda, 100m and 200m T11

Djamel Mastouri, 1,500m T37/38

Sebastien Mobre, 100m and 200m T34

Antoine Perel, 100m, long jump and high jump T/F12

Hugues Quiatol, 100m and 200m T35

Boris Reynaud, 100m T46

Daniel Royer, long jump T20

Soselito Sekeme, discus F46

Moussa Tambadou, discus F38

Guides

Cedric Felip

Edgar Onezou

Loic Scouarnec

Gautier Simounet

Approximately 1,300 athletes from 90 countries are expected to attend Lyon 2013, the first major gathering of international track and field stars following London.

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