After disappointment and recognition, Toucoullet and Benhami say goodbye to their Games

These were not the results they were expecting. Both eliminated in their first match, each in the individuals, then in the mixed team, Aziza Benhami and Guillaume Toucoullet leave Paris with no Paralympic medals at the 2024 Games.

The fall is somewhat brutal. They lost 6-0 to the composed pair of Milena Olszewska and Lukasz Ciszek, with the French archers leaving their capital empty-handed, in the rain.

“Of course, it is a big disappointment,” confides Toucoullet. “I’m not sure what I’m going to after all this.”

The elements were difficult to tame for the pair. There was heavy rainfall at Les Invalides, accompanied by a tricky wind.

“At the training ground, we had a lot of rain,” says Guillaume. “We took a good shower! But then, in the arena, nothing more. We wondered how we would adapt to it all.”

“It is always difficult to manage the rain and the wind, but it was necessary to do,” added Aziza.

“The conditions are the same for everyone,” completes Toucoullet. “When it’s like this, you have to put on the after burners and go for it.”

In fact, Olszewska and Ciszek seemed less disturbed by the elements despite the added encouragement from the audience who were fully committed to cheering on Benhami and Toucoullet.

The winning pair shot 34, 37 and 33. A consistency that Benhami and Toucoullet could not find, including a second set to forget, dropping a score of 28, insufficient at this level of competition.

For Guillaume, the disappointment doubles, after his elimination the day before in the men’s individual quarterfinals as the number one seed.

“It hurts a lot,” he said after his 6-4 defeat against Colombian Héctor Julio Ramírez. “This was not the result I was hoping for.”

“I haven’t even won a single match. I’m angry but only at myself.”

Aziza Benhami also lost in the first round of the women’s individual. However, she remains positive after her maiden Paralympic Games. The support of the French public particularly touched her.

“It’s crazy!” she confides. “I don’t have any other words (laughing).”

“It’s great to feel pushed, we know that people got up early, they came despite the rain and the wind that was there.”

“It was incredible,” adds Guillaume. “This is one of the best gifts we’ve ever received.”

Their experience in Paris was mixed, but the two archers are now looking to the future. With the need for some breathing space for now, there remains an unbroken ambition.

“I’m going to take a vacation,” chuckles Benhami. 

“It was a great experience. Why not do this again in four years with a little more experience, technique and work.”

“I’m not going to take a break right now,” explains Toucoullet, who will soon be competing in the European Club Cup.

“I think I’ll be at Los Angeles; I remain enormously hungry even after blowing these Games” says the 39-year-old Basque. “I still have to progress in the next four years.”

He and Benhami will be hoping to compete in LA28 with a medal at stake. 

So that the sun of Los Angeles will make them both forget the rain of Paris.