France’s national lottery operator, the Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), has praised the country’s returning Olympic athletes who placed eighth in the Tokyo 2020 medal table.
As the primary sponsor of both the French Olympic team and the next Olympic games – due to be held in Paris in 2024 – the FDJ supported the development of several Team France athletes via its sports development programme, the FDJ Factory.
These Olympians included gold medalists, including female Judoka Romane Dicko, foil fencer Enzo Lefort and 25m shooting champion Jean Quiquampoix. Additional French highlights included FDJ-sponsored teams securing gold medals in both men’s and women’s handball and silver and bronze titles in basketball.
Following the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics – which saw the US top the medal table with a lead of 25 medals over second place China – the FDJ will now focus on supporting French paralympians.
Notable Paralympic athletes who have attended the Factory programme include paraswimmers Laurent Chardard and Alex Portal, para-athlete Manon Genest, para-judoka Nathan Petit.
Preparing for France to host the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, FDJ will expand on its fundraising of the National Sports Agency (ANS) – an organisation that has been financially supported by national operator for the past four decades.
Working with ANS, FDJ launched its Factory programme in 2019, with the aim of establishing an effective sports support network for French athletes to be fully implemented in time for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games.
