France has named seven para archers into its Paralympic squad for 2024, following national team trials on 27-28 January in Niort, western France.
They will compete in the final world qualification tournament in Dubai in March, the European Championships in Rome in May and the world ranking tournament in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, in June.
One of these para archers will then have to be removed from the line-up for the Paralympic archery events scheduled from 29 August to 5 September in Paris. The host country has a total of six quota places and will not be able to claim additional spots.
Paralympian Guillaume Toucoullet, European silver medallist and number two in the men’s para ranking list, and Aziza Benhami, women’s world number 30, will defend the French chances in the recurve open division in the lead-up to the Games.
The compound men’s duo of Maxime Guérin and Thierry Joussaume, reigning European team champions, will also make the trips, with Daniel Lelou trying to participate in a fourth Olympiad. Lelou competed in the 1984 and 2020 Paralympic Games and was a team bronze medallist in Seoul 1988.
On the women’s side, France can count with Julie Rigault Chupin, individual and mixed team quarterfinalist from Tokyo 2020.
Finally, Damien Letulle will be keen to perform as a W1 archer, having already experienced the Olympic Games as an able-bodied archer in Atlanta 1996, and to show he made the right choice aiming at a medal in Les Invalides, a place full of history for him.
The French squad starts its Paralympic preparation with the final world qualification tournament on 2-7 March, United Arab Emirates.
French Paralympic squad for 2024
- Recurve men open: Guillaume Toucoullet
- Recurve women open: Aziza Benhami
- Compound men open: Maxime Guérin, Thierry Joussaume and Daniel Lelou
- Compound women open: Julie Rigault Chupin
- W1 men: Damien Letulle
