FRENCH athletes have a better chance of winning medals at this summer’s Olympics than in previous games.
Paris is hosting the games for the third time in 2024 following previous editions in 1900 and 1924.
A host of home favourites will be eyeing gold across the next two weeks including the men’s rugby sevens team.
Lead by Antoine Dupont, they are amongst the medal hopefuls in the French capital.
And new research shows they have a better chance to achieve their goals thanks to the French support.
The research, which was commissioned by Team GB sponsor Natwest to launch its Travel Reward credit card, has found a home crowd increases a team or athletes’ chances of winning by 62 per cent.
Meanwhile, an Olympics home crowd adds a five per cent chance of picking up a medal.
The research looked at results across 25 sports, tournaments and events from a period spanning more than 30 years.
Sports and exercise psychologist Dr Andrea Furst explained: “In my experience, working with athletes across a variety of sports and at different levels, one element consistently stands out – the profound influence of fans encouraging athletes to challenge their limits.
“In an arena of fine margins, supporters giving their all in cheering on an athlete often triggers a surge in athletes’ determination and can create that crucial extra per cent.
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“This comprehensive study highlights the psychological dynamic between athletes and their supportive spectators and reinforces both the importance of fan engagement and the influence they will have about successes in this summer of sport.”
Hockey was the leading medal sport for an increase in medals won at an Olympics on home soil at 11.11 per cent.
Elsewhere, triathlon and judo completed the top three at 10 and 9.3 per cent respectively.
Across those three sports, France picked up two bronze medals in judo three years ago in Tokyo.
Overall, they claimed 33 medals at the last games, including 10 golds, to take their tally across all games to 889 – the sixth most of all-time.
