The appointment is made for Sasha Zhoya. Sixth in the 110m hurdles final in 13”26 after a half gun (13”15, personal best), Monday evening at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Sasha Zhoya sowed great promise for the Olympic Games of Paris in 2024. And this even if he does not hide it: “After the half, I of course thought of the medal. I had the second best time so I saw myself on the podium. That’s how you have to get into a final. The nugget of the tricolor athlete, aged 21, had in any case been warmly embraced by the American Grant Holloway, still crowned world champion, after his superb semi-final. But on his lane 7, Sasha Zhoya came out of the starting blocks timidly for his first major world final among seniors, and he never recovered from his delay, slowed down by faults at the fourth and fifth hurdles.
Far behind Grant Holloway (12”96), the Franco-Australian therefore also found himself outside the Top 5. “I’m not happy with my departure, I was sleeping in the blocks. I rushed because I wanted to have the same start as in the semi-finals, where I had succeeded. I thought about it too much, I should have been more free in my head. I’m taking this experience, I’m waiting for the rest, ”explained the person concerned in the mixed zone, with a big smile on his face. “Satisfaction wins. I wanted to improve on last year, which I clearly did, I can only smile, “he says, a year after his elimination in the semi-finals at the Worlds in Eugene (Oregon). ).
“I’m only 21, you have to be patient”
The hurdler, who grew up in Australia where he was born to a French mother and a Zimbabwean father, is gradually fulfilling the expectations placed on his immense potential, for his second season over high hurdles (106.7 cm) seniors. But he will have to wait to win an international medal like his mentor Ladji Doucouré, 2005 world champion. After choosing France in 2020, the junior world record holder (12”72 in 2021, over lower hurdles) continues to trace his road to the Paris Olympics in 2024, for which he has just validated his place, according to the selection criteria of the French Athletics Federation.
“It was very important for Paris 2024, he projects. This sixth place with a bad start gives me confidence. It takes a bit of the stress off me, I can’t wait to see what I can do next year. I am only 21 years old, I am sure that in my career I will be on the podium with the gold medal, you have to be patient. “An optimism that also applies to the other Frenchman qualified for the final on Monday, Wilhem Belocian (8th in 13”32). “I’m happy, I learned from these Worlds, confided the latter. I’ve come a long way and I loved it to the fullest. I saw what a 110m hurdles final was like, I’m pumped up to work for next year”. We will add to the list Just Kwaou-Mathey, eliminated in the semi-finals in Budapest. See you in a year gentlemen.