Rudy Gobert, pivot of the French basketball team, told Le Monde during a meeting on April 9 that he would like to be the flag bearer of the French delegation at the Olympic Games (JO) in Paris, which will be held from July 26 to August 11. “Of course I’m applying, I’ve always dreamed of it and it would be an incredible honor,” he said at the time.
Ultimately, the 31-year-old basketball player will not present his candidacy, he explained in an interview published Thursday May 2 by Agence France-Presse. “It would have been an incredible honor, but the Olympic schedule probably won’t allow it,” says Rudy Gobert.
“We have a match in Lille the day after the opening ceremony [July 26], he explains. Being a standard bearer would mean arriving in Lille very late in the evening the day before a match, when my priority is really to be (…) the best possible on the pitch. It would have been an honor, but it’s probably not going to be possible this year. »
Engaged in the NBA playoffs
The 2.16 meter tall player is currently involved in the NBA playoffs with the Timberwolves. The Minnesota franchise, which soundly beat the Phoenix Suns in the first round (4-0), seems able to aim for the title. Rudy Gobert and his teammates face the defending champion, Denver, in the semi-finals of the Western Conference, starting Saturday, May 4, less than three months before the Games, where the pivot, Olympic vice-champion in 2021, will aim to win. gold with the Blues. “Today I’m really focused on the present moment, it’s the best way to prepare for the Olympics. It seems both close and far at the same time, strangely,” he adds.