Olympic Games: Steven Da Costa’s fight for karate in Paris-2024

Published on : 08/13/2021 – 15:20

“To become the first Olympic karate medalist would be great, but to be the last one is ugly.” Before the Olympic Games, Steven Da Costa confided to France 24 his dream and his great fear about the Olympic future of his discipline. In Tokyo, the 24-year-old won his bet by becoming the first Olympic champion in karate history. Now as combative in the media as on the tatami, he is fighting for the integration of his sport into the program of the Paris-2024 Olympics.

Exit karate, make way for breakdance

In 2024, surfing, climbing, skateboarding, already present in Tokyo, as well as breakdance will be the new additional sports, but not karate, which appeared on the program of the Japanese Olympics, for only one edition.

“I have to help my sport and fight for something that I think is right,” said the 24-year-old karateka, Olympic champion in -67 kg.

“I trained like a dog. I took on my role of favorite. I brought the gold back to France. I carried the flag high. I was on a little cloud. Waking up hurts. 2024, with your support, I want to defend my Olympic title in Paris “, calls the champion on Twitter.

In his fight, he received the support of the Minister Delegate in charge of Sports Roxana Maracineanu and the CNOSF (French National Olympic and Sports Committee).

“The integration of karate would be a nice link between Tokyo-2021 and Paris-2024”, explains the former swimmer turned politician in an interview with the Parisian : “I support Steven Da Costa’s approach. At least it’s worth writing to the IOC.”

“These are important supports for us, it is not for nothing that I was the flag bearer for the closing ceremony in Tokyo,” he told AFP.

On Thursday, around fifty deputies gave their support to karate in an open letter to Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris-2024 Organizing Committee.

“After a first official introduction in 2020, it would be difficult to understand and bearable for karate to be dispossessed of its ‘Olympic’ status by France, which has the first champion of the Olympic Games that it will not be able to defend”, write the elected officials of The national assembly. “We owe it to the some 250,000 French women and men of all generations who practice this combat sport in total harmony with the Olympic values ​​and those of the spirit of Coubertin.”

Sports “that work on social networks”

But Tony Estanguet turns a deaf ear to requests. “We had the possibility of adding four sports,” said the president of the Paris-2024 organizing committee on FranceInfo the day after the Tokyo Olympics closed. “By looking for urban sports such as skateboarding and breakdance, we are going to look for sports that are successful on social networks and that young people watch a lot. Surfing and climbing bring a very spectacular dimension and different from the sports already on the program. . “

On the social networks so dear to Tony Estanguet, mobilization is required around the hashtag # karate2024 to show that this sport also exists on platforms and criticism is fired against the president of the organizing committee. Some believe that karate is more in the spirit of Olympism than breakdance, an additional sport for Paris 2024. An accusation that Steven Da Costa prefers to moderate:

“We would like to be added, we do not want to replace anyone because everyone who is there deserves it, but we want to be the fifth sport”, explains the gold medalist in the -67 kg. “Tony Estanguet quickly forgets where he comes from. He knows very well that his apologies are unfounded. We should perhaps review the decision. Karate has given a very good image in Tokyo, I think we deserve as much than sports that are already there. “

Indeed, many believe that Tony Estanguet forgets his own Olympic history by inflicting this spell on karate. In 2000, the Sydney organizing committee had withdrawn canoeing from the program. Faced with the outcry, he was reinstated at the last minute, offering Tony Estanguet the opportunity to win the first of his three Olympic titles.

Despite the controversy, the organizing committee persisted and signed in a press release pointing out the constraints “in order to limit the size of the Games”, with an overall number of athletes limited to 10,500, shifting the number of additional sports to 4 instead of 5 as for the Tokyo Games.

“Breaking (dance), climbing, skateboarding and surfing were selected in February 2019 by Paris 2024 for a proposal to the IOC. A choice guided by the identity of these young sports, accessible and connected with their time in coherence with the vision of Paris 2024 and complementary to the existing imposed program, ”explains the committee.

“Nobody really understands this choice. Even him [Estanguet], I think he does not understand it. He persists a little in making unfounded excuses, and there we begin to deviate from the values ​​of Olympism. We are starting to talk about audience, money. The values ​​of sport, they are no longer there “, launches Steven Da Costa in Liberation. As on the mat, the champion will continue to distribute the ura-mawashi until the end.