50 days to Paris 2024: Alexis Jandard - world-class diver and social media star
Earlier in April this year, Alexis Jandard was performing with other divers during the inauguration of the Olympic Aquatic Center in Saint-Denis, which will host artistic swimming, diving, and water polo events at Olympic Games Paris 2024.
As he attempted a dive, the Frenchman slipped, lost his balance and ended up in the water in a somewhat embarrassing fashion - all in full view of France President Emmanuel Macron and dozens of journalists' cameras.
It didn't take long for the incident to go viral. But far from being disheartened, the 27-year-old surfed the wave of online mockery, even recording a tutorial titled "How to Perfectly Mess Up Your Dive?" in collaboration with the Fédération Française de la Lose (FFL), which has been viewed nearly 5 million times.
“I could have done without that fall,” he joked while speaking to Olympics.com. “But today I have visibility among the French that I didn't have before, and I'm happy about that!”
With his name now widely known among his compatriots, Janard is looking to make another big splash at Paris 2024 - but this time, with the aim of winning gold.
A world medallist in perfect sync with his partner
Jandard keeps adding new achievements to his resume on an annual basis, which bodes well for his chances at the diving competition at the Games this summer.
After winning bronze in the 10m platform event at the 2015 European Games, Jandard earned silver in the team event alongside Jade Gillet at the 2022 World Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
“In Budapest, I was competing after recovering from shoulder surgery. I came back three months later and we were on the podium,” he said. “A week later I ruptured my Achilles tendon.”
These physical setbacks didn't prevent him from delivering another strong performance the following year, this time with his long-time partner Jules Bouyer. The two men grabbed a bronze medal in the 3m synchronised springboard at the European Games 2023 in Krakow, Poland.
At the same European Games, the Lyon native also won a silver medal in the 1m springboard and a bronze medal in the 3m springboard as an individual competitor.
However, it's primarily his partnership with Bouyer that draws the most attention. The two men share a close bond that allows them to be in perfect sync during competitions.
“We train every day, twice a day, we're always together. It creates a brotherhood and a [bond],” Jandard explains. “It's important to keep training together, and it's motivation for the future.”
Barely a month after the European Games, the pair won bronze at the World Aquatics Championships 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan.
“We've never had so many medals before, and now we're going for them at every opportunity,” he says. “Before we were in the spotlight we already had results, and we're going to keep trying to go after them as best we can.”
The will to win at Paris 2024
The Olympic programme features eight events: the 3m springboard (individual and synchronised, men and women) and the 10m platform (individual and synchronised, men and women).
After being selected to the French team by the Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français (CNOSF), Jandard and Bouyer will compete together in the 3m synchronised diving event.
They hope to win the first French Olympic medal in diving since Helsinki 1952, when Madeleine Moreaux won silver in springboard.
"At our first Olympics, the goal was to participate," Alexis Jandard explained to AFP. "For the second, the goal is to win a medal.”
According to Clémence Monnery, director of the French diving teams, this goal is achievable. She sees “a real chance of a medal” for the pair, who she believes have “the mental strength, technique and diving quality to go for it”.
Jandard intends to have a completely different experience in Paris to the one he underwent at his first Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, held in 2021, where he finished 16th in the 3m springboard event.
“When I compare it to Tokyo, where I was in a closed environment without an audience, eating behind a glass barrier in front of my colleagues because of the pandemic, and having to leave 24 hours after my competition…Now I want to have a different experience in Paris, the fact of having so many people in packed stands for my event, I'm really excited."
The diver is looking forward to meeting the public on 2 August at the Saint-Denis Olympic Aquatic Center, where this time he'll be trying to attract the spotlight with a medal around his neck.