In Nîmes, soon a taste of the Paris Olympics

Le président de l'Arc-club de Nîmes Philippe Michelutti et le directeur sportif Olivier Grillat. MIDI LIBRE – E. DZ.

Coupe du monde en salle de tir à l'arc/Occitanie Nîmes archery tournament/26e édition. Entre 30 et 40 % des archers qui seront aux Jeux Olympiques dans six mois passeront par le Gard du 19 au 21 janvier prochains.

At the Assomption stadium, home of the Arc-club de Nîmes (ACN), work is progressing well. The site has been labeled a “Games preparation center”, and is therefore getting a makeover before welcoming, in the spring and early summer, athletes qualified for Paris 2024.

"The building dates from 1986, says Olivier Grillat, the sports director of the ACN. The changing rooms have been brought up to standard, an office and a workshop have been installed next door, the exterior shooting range has been redone at the level of the aisles. And by the end of March, we will also have a new covered shooting range 70 meters away, other offices and a meeting room."

Indoors in Nîmes, outdoors in Paris, the two competitions are not linked

This is also the Olympics effect. Sport, medals, celebrations, and the modernization of sports infrastructures. Next weekend, we will talk a lot about the Games in Nîmes, which is preparing to welcome, like every year in January, the elite of archery.

And this even if the two competitions are not linked: the Occitanie Nîmes archery tournament, fourth of the five rounds of the Indoor world series, will take place indoors (shooting at 18 meters) on three sites neighbors, Parnasse, the Parc des Expos and the Estanque; while the Olympic events will be held outdoors (shooting at 70 meters, from July 25 to August 4). The first is not a qualifier for the second.

The elite of the discipline, three of the five best in the world for men

However, we will find quite a few competitors in Gard who will dream of medals in six months. Olivier Grillat has done his calculations: "There will be 128 archers at the Olympics (64 men and 64 women). Among those registered in Nîmes, 49 can potentially be in Paris, including 35 almost sure.

Or between 30 and 40% that we will find on the Invalides site this summer. Three of the top five in the world are entered in Nîmes among the men (the Brazilian n°1 D’Almeida, the Italian n°4 Nespoli and the American n°5 Ellison) and half of the top 10 among the ladies. Facing this beautiful field, we will find the best French men and women, including the Nîmes Jean-Charles Valladont, Baptiste Addis and Victoria Sebastian, a trio still in the race for a place at the Games after the second stage of the internal selections this week.< /p>

1103 registered from 47 countries, an international prize: Nîmes knows how to welcome the world

"We feel that the Olympic Games are taking place in Paris, there are more participants in all competitions, the number of licensees is increasing, particularly in Occitanie, appreciates the president of the & rsquo;ACN Philippe Michelutti. Regarding our tournament, we have 1,103 registered from 47 countries. Before Covid, we received an international award in China for the quality of our organization and our welcome. It’s a source of pride for the club." Nîmes knows how to welcome people.