le Football

A lot of big news for soccer in France with Bordeaux and Lyons advancing in the Champions League. The top two teams from each UEFA Champions League group go into the first knockout round in the spring, with the third-placed clubs to enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32. That means that Lyons (#2 in Group E) and Bordeaux ( #1 in Group A) have a chance at the big one. Marseille (#3 in Group C) didn't make the cut for the Champions League, but will enter the Europa League Rounds. Pas mal du tout.

Our very own Corry Cropper runs the blog,The Sports Academic. He commented on the recent Henry handball fiasco, shedding interesting cultural light on the apparently loaded issue. Dr. Cropper states, "in the wake of a financial meltdown and political scandal, Henry, dubbed 'Le Cheat' in Ireland, is being viewed as a symbol of France's decline." France's embarrassment over the whole thing is somewhat revealing of France's declining sense of national pride. To read more, click here!

Le Sport- la natation

Ex-Olympic champion Laure Manaudou announced Friday in an interview with Parisien-Aujourd’hui en France that she is going to stop swimming competitively.

At 17, Laure won the 400-meter freestyle in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Her victory gave France its first swimming gold in 52 years. In addition she holds: a silver medal in the 800-meter and a bronze in the 100-meter backstroke. She was also world champion in the 400-meter free swim in 2005.

In the interview, Manaudou reveals the day-to-day pressures and difficulties she has faced. She has slowly come to the decision since her break with her trainer Philippe Lucas in 2007.

"I quit. This hasn't been an easy decision to make," the 22-year-old Frenchwoman stated. "It came to me little by little. I didn't make it on impulse. It has matured slowly."

-david

France plans for 40 medals at the upcoming Olympics

Come August, France will be sending 310 of its finest athletes to Beijing to compete in the games of the XXIX Olympiad. The committee for olympic preparations is determined to maintain France's standing as 7th among other competing nations, a standing that has been slipping since 1996. The committee expects that this will translate into 40 medals for France, a modest improvement over the 33 medals won in the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.


For more on France's Olympic plans:
Le Figaro: La France vise 40 médailles aux JO

Tsonga eliminated in first round of Open 13

The France's most recent tennis star, the 22-year-old Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was beaten Wednesday in the first round of the Open 13 Tennis Tournament played each year in Marseille. He was beaten by Croatian player Mario Ancic (7-5, 7-6(3)).

French Handball Team Takes Bronze

In the recent European Handball Championship, played in Lillehammer, France beat Germany (the reigning champs) in a 36 to 26 point match and secured the Bronze medal.





To learn more:

• Le Monde: Les handballeurs tricolores accrochent la médaille de bronze à l'Euro
• Handball Wiki

XV de France sets its sights on Rugby World Cup

The French rugby team XV de France, otherwise known as "Les Bleus" succeeded in defeating the legendary All Blacks team from New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup. This victory in, puts Les Bleus in the Semi-Finals where they will face England, and gets them one step closer to becoming world champions.






Read more about XV de France and their victory below:
Les Raison d'un Succès
Les Bleus ne voulaient pas mourir à Cardiff