Athletics. Kwaou-Mathey under 13 seconds, Lavillenie regains the title of French champion

He had announced that he had "something in his legs": Just Kwaou-Mathey won the French 110m hurdles title on Sunday with a time under 13 seconds, beating the three-time defending champion Sasha Zhoya in the process.

Very much in form in Talence (Gironde), with two times around 13 seconds 10 in the heats and in the semi-final, the 25-year-old hurdler crossed the line in 12 seconds 99 (wind: +0.3 m/s), the second best world performance of the year.

The Evreux AC player has come a long way after rupturing his Achilles tendon in the spring of 2024. A year later, he ran on Sunday just four hundredths of a second below Pascal Martinot-Lagarde's French record (12''95).

Kwaou-Mathey finished ahead of French star Sasha Zhoya (13''18) on his return to competition and 60m hurdles world vice-champion Wilhem Belocian (13''23), a podium finish that already qualifies him for the World Championships in Tokyo (September 13-21).

"I really came looking for something great today. Less than 13 seconds, that's something for us hurdlers, it's something huge!" he marveled as he became the third Frenchman to break this legendary barrier in the discipline, after Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and Ladji Doucouré.

On Sunday, he actually overtook the French record holder, almost like a passing of the baton, since "PML" ran his last professional race at the age of 33 ( ^7th , 13''47).

Moved to tears, the multiple international medalist performed a lap of honour to greet the crowd at the Talence stadium and say "quite simply, thank you."

"My stomach hurts, my abs hurt, I cried too much, which probably makes me one of the luckiest athletes in the world because I chose my exit, I was able to say goodbye in a French Championship final, I'm very happy," savored Martinot-Lagarde, who had earned a final selection for the French team this winter at the World Championships in Nanjing.

In the pole vault, the leader Renaud Lavillenie showed that he was in great shape at almost 39 years old by winning his first French championship title since 2020, the ^11th outdoors and the ^19th including those indoors.

"Five years of waiting is a long time... I'm taking a bit of revenge on that, especially after the two years where I struggled quite a bit," between a thigh injury and not qualifying for the Paris Games, Lavillenie recalled.

The former world record holder (6.16 m) needed only two jumps to clear the competition and was the only one to clear 5.82 m on his first attempt, a height he had already cleared twice this season.

"My priority was the ticket to Tokyo. And it's good to show that I'm still here, for a young old man," smiled the 2012 Olympic champion.

In the 1500m final, Azzedine Habz is one of the few favorites to have held his own at the French Championships in one of the most anticipated races, with a lot at stake, with seven athletes having already achieved the minimum times for Japan.

"I was very stressed. I knew there would be a lot of tension. Everyone wants to be in the top three (to go to Tokyo)," explained the new French champion.

Having made a brilliant start to the season, the recent French record holder in the discipline (3'27''49) reclaimed his national crown by winning in 3 minutes 33 seconds 33, beating the record for the national championship final.

"If I didn't win the French Championships, I think I had no business being at the World Championships," Habz said.

Another satisfaction of the day, Melvin Raffin signed the second best world performance of the year in the triple jump with a leap of 17.52 m (minimum 17.13 m) on his sixth attempt, tied with the Jamaican Jordan Scott.