TRIATHLON – Tokyo 2020: 10 French Athletes to Compete in Olympic Test Event

One year before the Tokyo Olympic Games, 7 triathletes and 3 paratriathletes will represent France at the Tokyo Test Event, which will take place from tomorrow, Thursday, August 15, to Sunday, August 18.

The French team will be able to test themselves on the 2020 course and try to meet one of the selection criteria for the individual triathlon and mixed relay events at the Olympic Games.

TRIATHLON
Four women (Cassandre Beaugrand, Sandra Dodet, Emilie Morier, Léonie Périault) and three men (Dorian Coninx, Léo Bergère, Pierre Le Corre) make up the French delegation present in Japan for this Test Event. This selection is a continuation of the previous one, as it is almost identical to the team present in Hamburg last July (WTS, Mixed Relay World Championship) and which will be in Lausanne for the WTS Grand Final in two weeks. Only Vincent Luis, who is preparing for the Grand Final, will not be in Japan.

After Hamburg, the French triathletes underwent a preparation and acclimatization phase of almost a month in France, supplemented by a one-week to 10-day stay in Japan before the events. The objective of this preparation phase was notably to acclimatize them to the environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) similar to those in Japan and to absorb the time difference (+7 hours in Japan), which is essential given the very early start times of the races.

PARATRIATHLON
The Tokyo Test Event is a key step in the preparation for the 2020 Paralympic Games. However, this event must be placed in the context of the season’s calendar. Located only 15 days before the World Championship, the Test Event is not the main objective for the athletes, who are all aiming for a great performance in Lausanne. This explains why the French team is in reduced numbers in Japan.
The athletes selected for Tokyo have the capacity to perform well at both events (Tokyo and Lausanne) and have prepared accordingly.

As for the triathletes, the objective is to validate the training site before the Games and to get a feel for the course and climatic conditions.

PROGRAM
Thursday, August 15, Women’s Triathlon: 00:30 French time – 07:30 local time
Friday, August 16, Men’s Triathlon: 00:30 French time – 07:30 local time
Saturday, August 17, Paratriathlon: 23:30 French time – 06:30 local time
Sunday, August 18, Mixed Relay: 01:00 French time – 08:00 local time