In Marchand, the hosts may find their hero

New Delhi: France is not just ending a century of wait to host its third Olympic Games, the scenic opening ceremony down the Seine also marks 12 years of hurt after an excellent bid document didn’t find favour with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members. Paris appeared the frontrunners going into the 2009 IOC session in Singapore only for London to walk away with the 2012 Games.

As the country of Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games, puts on the mega show, it would be nothing like when it did in 1900, and then in 1924 in between the World Wars. If Paris was left to feel like Athens, which believed it should have been awarded the centennial Games in 1996 – it went to Atlanta – but got to host only in 2004.

The political tumult in the French capital has only added to the challenge of staging the July 26-August 11 Games. That makes it even more important for the host country to project its true flag-bearers at the Games, and hope they deliver and embellish the history of the third Paris Olympic Games.

In a perfect world, perhaps France need not have looked beyond Kylian Mbappe. Nothing would have pleased the hosts more than the skipper of ‘Les Bleus’, the multi-cultural national side, leading them to glory. But a disastrous Euro 2024 campaign was compounded with the agreement Mbappe had with Real Madrid – having moved from Paris St. Germain at the end of the last season – that he would play either in the continental championship or the Olympic Games.

That may see France leaning towards swimmer Leon Marchand, 22, dubbed the ‘French Michael Phelps’, as their big hope; as their rallying point. The five-time world championships gold medallist trains under the American legend’s former coach Bob Bowman, and broke the 23-time gold medallist’s last world record, in 400m individual medley.

He could end France’s 12-year gold medal drought in the pool, and also become the first French swimmer to win multiple individual Olympic golds.

“When I returned to France, I was a bit stressed realising that the Olympics were less than a month away,” Marchand told Olympics.com at the France Swimming training camp in Vichy.

“But since I’ve been in training camp, I’ve been calm and serene. The event doesn’t overwhelm me; it will help me transcend. Bob [Bowman] and I have done the job for a year and a half, now is not the time to panic. We don’t overthink it.

“For me, it’s a driving force. Making history helps you learn about yourself and opens you up to others. Many French athletes, for example, are inspired by Florent Manaudou. It’s not my primary goal, but it comes with what I do in the water and the work I put in.”

As the French wait and hope the tricolore is raised across the Games stadia, one can revisit the story ‘flag-bearers’ of the previous six Olympic Games hosts this century. Some dazzled but some others fizzled. After all, Olympic Games are where dreams are made and hopes go bust.

Sydney, 2000

An Australia keen to show genuine progress had been made in its reconciliation process over past treatment of Aboriginals found their symbol in Cathy Freeman. The 400m runner first lit the Olympic cauldron at the Sydney stadium and then scorched the tracks, claiming the most precious gold of the host nation.

Athens, 2004

Smarting from Greece, hosts of the inaugural 1886 Games, being overlooked as the 1996 hosts, the nation pinned its hopes on sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou, the surprise men’s 200m gold medallist and 100m silver medallist at the Sydney Games. But it all ended in drama and dope accusations on the eve of the opening ceremony. The two admitted themselves to hospital claiming they were involved in a bike accident, but it turned out that they had failed to attend a dope test – a third miss which constituted a violation. They withdrew from the Games after an IOC disciplinary Commission hearing.

Beijing, 2008

It was China’s coming out party, and none exemplified that more than the 110m hurdler Liu Xiang, who had won China’s first track and field gold in Athens, set the world record in 2006 and won the world title at 2007 Osaka. But it ended in heartbreak for the home fans when Liu walked away after a false start in the first round heat complaining of an Achilles tendon injury. China, though, found plenty of other heroes for a haul of 100 gold.

London, 2012

Andy Murray won a dream Olympics gold medal for the hosts, beating Roger Federer in the final at Wimbledon, but it was the Somali-born Mo Farah who stole the thunder on the track by achieving a 5000-10000 double for his adopted country. Combined with the dazzling show put up by Usain Bolt, it was one great Games for athletics.

Rio, 2016

Brazil, as hosts of the first Games to be staged in Latin America, saw many famous names – none bigger than US swimming great Phelps signing off his Olympic in great style – claim glory. But the hosts ensured a successful Games by winning the prize that mattered – the men’s football gold. Talisman Neymar gave the lead against Germany in the final with a stunning freekick and then converted the winning penalty in the shootout.

Tokyo, 2021

One memorable moment in this Covid-affected and delayed Games came at the opening ceremony – Naomi Osaka, a global sporting icon by then, given the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron. Although she lost in the third round of the women’s singles, Japan finished third on the medals table, only behind United States and China, with 27 gold medals.