FRANCE: OLYMPICS - With a 100 days to go French athletes count down to the London Olympics
Record ID:
863465
FRANCE: OLYMPICS - With a 100 days to go French athletes count down to the London Olympics
- Title: FRANCE: OLYMPICS - With a 100 days to go French athletes count down to the London Olympics
- Date: 19th April 2012
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (APRIL 18, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF HALL WHERE FRENCH OLYMPIC ATHLETES HAVE GATHERED TO MARK 100 DAYS TILL THE START OF THE LONDON OLYMPICS
- Embargoed: 4th May 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France, France
- City:
- Country: France
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVACYC1FY1AR9RA31MV7QRUM0UBT
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: French athletes said on Wednesday (April 18) that they were looking forward to hitting the ground running for the Olympic Games which kick off in London in exactly a hundred days.
London won its bid to host the games in 2007 at the expense of Paris, but there were no hard feelings among the French athletes as they count down to the games.
Lucie Decosse, who won silver in the judo competition at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, said the 100 days does not mean much to her because she is still in preparation mode.
"Today, a 100 days for an athlete doesn't change a lot. We are preparing, we don't feel close to the event yet. The media makes us think it is close but we are still preparing and it seems to be still far away," Decosse said.
French rower Adrien Hardy said that he was looking forward to competing in a country with a history of the sport.
"The English are great fans of rowing, and great connoisseurs of the sport and for us to go rowing in the river by Eton which you can see from the windows of Windsor (Castle). Maybe the Queen of England will be able to see us row," he said.
And what keeps the French team together?
"Ambition, courage, solidarity, it's caring for each other, it's being partners, and we're all going to cheer for each other. We're going to be there for each other in good times as well as in injuries, during hard times. We're a big family, we stand up for each other and that's what makes us strong as a team," said Marlene Harnois of the French taekwondo team.
The 2012 London Olympic Games start on July 27 and will run until August 12. The Paralympic Games begin just a few weeks later on August 29, running until September 9. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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