The greatest hope for a medal rested on his shoulders and pecs. Axel Bourlon, a silver medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, was welcomed like a hero at the Arena Porte de La Chapelle. The tifo in blue, white and red, the many flags and the noise of the crowd contrasted with the behavior of the man from Roanne. Sitting on the bench for his first attempt, he closed his eyes for thirty seconds and entered his zone. The once exuberant crowd fell into a reverent silence.

Disappointment for Axel Bourlon

Unfortunately, his first attempt at 163 kilograms was invalidated by two of the three judges. The video challenge upheld the decision, meaning he had to do better on the second lift. Meanwhile, David Degtyarev of Kazakhstan made his first lift at 184 kilograms, taking the lead in the competition. An Nguyen of Vietnam withdrew after failing his first attempt at 168 kilograms.

With his ranking at its lowest, Axel Bourlon decided to increase the weight for his second attempt.We don’t really understand the decision on the first lift; I felt comfortable with that weight, so I chose to increase it,” he explained to the journalists. The lift with 169 kilograms could have earned him a provisional fifth place. However, his execution, poorly controlled with his right arm, was declared invalid by all three judges. Again, the video challenge did not overturn the decision. With his head in his hands, Bourlon realized that he had missed his chance. After Tokyo, he would not be on the podium again. Worse still, his third attempt, again with 169 kilograms, was another failure. Axel Bourlon would not even make it into the rankings.

“It is a huge disappointment because I did not come here for this; I wanted a medal, and the best possible one. I leave these Games empty-handed.“, he admitted later.

In the end, David Degtyarev (188 kilograms) from Kazakhstan won against Pablo Ramirez Barrientos (Cuba, 185 kg) and Jinglang Yang (China, 179 kg).