Paris 2024 Paralympic Games | Para powerlifting: One world record, two Paralympic records but no French medal on the first day of competition

The greatest hopes of a medal rested on his shoulders, and his pecs. Paralympic silver medalist in Tokyo in 2021, Axel Bourlon was welcomed as a hero at the Arena Porte de La Chapelle. The blue, white and red tifo, the many flags and the noise of the crowd contrasted with the attitude of the Roanne native. Sitting on the bench before his first attempt, he closed his eyes for thirty seconds, entering his zone. The crowd, once noisy, fell into a reverent silence.

Disappointment for Axel Bourlon

Unfortunately, his first attempt at 163kg was invalidated by two of the three judges. The video challenge confirmed the decision, meaning he will have to do better on the second lift. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s David Degtyarev landed his first lift at 184kg, taking the lead in the competition. Vietnam’s An Nguyen withdrew after failing his first attempt at 168kg.

With his ranking at its lowest, Axel Bourlon decided to increase the weight for his second attempt.It’s not really clear what the decision was made on the first lift; I felt comfortable with that weight, so I chose to increase it.“, he explained to journalists. The 169 kilo lift could have secured him a provisional fifth place. But his execution, poorly controlled with his right arm, was invalidated by the three judges. Once again, the video challenge did not overturn the decision. With his head in his hands, Bourlon understood that he had let his chance slip away. After Tokyo, he will not return to the podium. Worse still, his third attempt, still at 169 kilos, was another failure. Axel Bourlon will not even be ranked.

“It’s a huge disappointment because I didn’t come here for that, I wanted a medal, and the best possible one. I’m leaving these Games empty-handed.” he later admitted.

In the end, Kazakh David Degtyarev (188 kg) triumphed against Pablo Ramirez Barrientos (Cuba, 185 kg) and Jinglang Yang (China, 179 kg).