Baptiste Addis never expected to be in contention for a home Olympic Games but as Paris 2024 approaches entered last season with the ambition of making an impact at the youth level with the long-term goal of being in Los Angeles in 2028 everything has accelerated at a rapid rate to the point that the youngster from Manduel in the south of France is down to the final six male archers competing for three spots in Paris It has been a whirlwind journey, with Addis going from a 14-year-old spectator at a local stage of the 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup, the first of a run of major events held in Paris, to competing in the same event 12 months later – after his talent was spotted by French head coach Seon Tek Oh my first Pôle Espoirs [the lowest level training centre in French archery] and I went to see the World Cup in Paris “That is when I started to understand the top level I then did one year in Bordeaux at Pôle France [the next level up] He worked through youth events that winter and then in the summer “I went to watch the World Cup in Paris and a year later he moved to INSEP – France’s National Institute of Sport Expertise and Performance – getting a chance to train alongside the country’s top senior athletes The next stage of Olympic selection will come in January with the six men and six women set to be whittled down to four apiece to compete on the international circuit in 2024 before one further male and female archer is cut before Paris Addis is beginning to dream of competing at the Olympics on home soil an idea that would have seemed preposterous even 18 months ago “It’s difficult because the year I spent in Bordeaux, I was there thinking I was just doing junior competitions,” explained Addis, who cites current world number one Marcus D’Almeida as one of his most inspiring opponents. “My objectives were 2028, but when you’re young, 2028 seems so far away.” The move to INSEP, to prepare for the Paris Games, meant a change in mindset was required. “It was a bit hard to come to terms with but now I’m focused on Paris, I’m giving everything and it will accelerate my career,” said. And even if this work doesn’t pay off immediately – Addis has to, already, be a favourite to represent France in Los Angeles. “So it’s a bonus but if I go to Paris, I will give it everything in the individual,” the 17-year-old added. “We are a sport where you have to take your chances, so if there is the possibility of going and winning a medal because I’ve shot well, I’ll go for it.” “I’d also like to see how the Olympics works as well, and then hopefully that will also help me for 2028.” Addis first picked up the sport as a five-year-old in Manduel, near Nimes. For a youngster who loved all sports, there was something about the internal competition in archery that really appealed. The mental challenge is what Addis most enjoys, seeking perfection in training and then executing when it comes to competition. But his success has also meant sacrifices, not least leaving home earlier than most. “It was not easy for my parents,” he explained. “They have always supported me. I kind of see it as if I turned 18 or 19 a bit early.” At that age, you head off to study and away from your family. It just happened two years earlier. “I still get to see my parents, it’s not easy for them to see their son go away and not see me as much. But they are proud of me from a distance so it’s cool.” With the possibility of cheering on their teenage son at Paris 2024 edging closer to reality, that sense of pride is on track to increase exponentially. Arno Kamminga Set for Two-Man Duel in Olympic 100 Breast Final The Olympic final in the men’s 100 breaststroke might feel There will be six swimmers in the water at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre whose goal the race devolves into a man-a-mano joust between Adam Peaty and Arno Kamminga for gold it’ll be between two rivals grateful for the presence of the other Both men staked their claims in Sunday’s semifinal. Kamminga won the first semifinal in 58.19, a little slower than the 57.80 he laid down in prelims Peaty came back and controlled the final semi by more than a second The two sub-58 Europeans will undoubtedly be the class of the final And their styles could push each other to even faster times Arno Kamminga; Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Network “I like racing next to him because he pushes me more in the first 50 which is always my bad part of the 100,” the Dutchman Kamminga said And it’s nice racing next to him because he drags me along the first 50 I’ve got something that no one else has got So it’s just seeing how that replicates tomorrow.” Peaty has the edge in, well, just about every sense. He holds the world record, the only voyager to the subterranean depths beneath 57 seconds. He owns the top 15 times in history He bested Kamminga at the European Championships in May winning the 50 and 100 as Kamminga took silver in the 100 and 200 Peaty was less worried about time and more about survival He is adjusting to the oddity of an evening prelim a morning semi then a 24-hour wait until the final trying to put an emphasis on the heats in the morning to replicate a final wait longer for racing and stuff like that It’s all about controlling the controllables and enjoying that which is very strange because you come here and you rely on that kind of oomph but there’s not many people in the crowd because it’s all athletes or coaches or media I’m going to have to make my own story up.” Kamminga was excited Sunday to reach his first major final He’s looking forward to the power boost derived from behind next to Peaty “If he’s close to you and you feel you’re catching up it’s so much extra power compared to being all alone and just feeling the water and how it feels,” he said “When someone’s next to you and you feel like you’re catching up it gives you so much more strength than you would imagine.” There are swimmers with a chance to break the duopoly Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy tracked Kamminga to go 58.28 a best time by one hundredth of a second for the world junior record holder Michael Andrew has visited the land of sub-58.5 with a 58.14 And there’s only two men proven to consistently provide that Peaty was coy about what he might have in the tank for the final But he’s not shy about expressing his excitement Welcome to our community. 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Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Located in thirteen sites in the heart of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region the INRAE ​​Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur centre focuses its research on issues specific to the Mediterranean region: agroecology and adaptation of agriculture and forests to climate change The INRAE ​​Provence-Alpes-Côte d´Azur research centre is the fourth largest of INRAE' 18 ​​centres with a consolidated budget of €71 million including €14 million in autonomous resources including 710 permanent staff members located on 12 sites: Avignon Sophia-Antipolis and Aix-en-Provence le Tholonet and nine other sites including Aix-en-Provence Arbois Email: contact-paca@inrae.fr  Siège : 147 rue de l'Université 75338 Paris Cedex 07 - tél. : +33(0)1 42 75 90 00 knocked a 9-iron into the hole on the 146-metre par-3 eighth hole at the Moonah course to send a message to the rest of the field that he would not be hunted down from his position as 54-hole leader Ultimately he won by just a single shot at 19-under par from his playing partner John Lyras at 18-under both men carding final-round 67s and providing some incredible highlights to close out the season on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia It is the second win of a groundbreaking season for Power Horan who also won in Gippsland before Christmas and who now has DP World Tour playing rights as a result of finishing second on the Order of Merit Lyras had to be content with another near-miss and the likelihood that the result with vault him into the top-five in the Order of Merit giving him access to the Korn Ferry Tour’s tour school final stage later this year He will also head to Asia this year where both he and Horan have playing rights Young gun Elvis Smylie finished outright third at 16-under par after another impressive day today at one point making five straight birdies in his 68 But it was a two-man duel at the top that Power Horan called “a bit crazy” staged between two of the best and most consistent players on the tour in 2022-23 Lyras immediately birdied the first hole to tie the lead then the Victorian chipped in for eagle at the second to regain it momentarily only to see Lyras hole out for eagle himself from close range they both hit their approaches to within a metre of the flagstick as they drove each other to some of the best golf of the season The Moonah course was benign without any wind and scoring was low all day “I knew he (Lyras) had a low number in him It was good fun to be a part of,” said Power Horan The ace at the eighth hole was a thunderclap for Power Horan his seventh career hole-in-one celebrated when he handed the ball to his mother Esther it bounced twice and trickled into the cup a surge that he credits new coach Brad Hughes for inspiring Today he was completing his 11th tournament in the past 12 weeks he will be playing on the Asian Tour in Vietnam the week after that he plans on using his Order Of Merit exemption into the final stage of Korn Ferry Tour in the United States “That’s always been a dream,” he said of the chances of his playing in America I’m looking forward to playing a bit more over near my family Power Horan had to fight off an amazing early charge by Lyras who was 4-under par for the first three holes before a lull in the middle of the round As late in the day as the 17th hole the 26-year-old Sydney player made a miraculous up-and-down from trouble left of the par-3 17th green to stay within two shots but his tee shot again sailed left at the 18th and he could only manage a par when he needed birdie it’s the first time I shot four rounds in the 60s in a tournament,” said Lyras flared his second shot from the 18th fairway into deep rough and made bogey his scores of 68-68-66-67 testament to some brilliant ball-striking this week golf tips and access to partner promotions Join our newsletterGet weekly updates on news golf tips and access to partner promotions!