In tears, Nantenin Keita believes he “screwed up” during his 400m

At the Stade de France

A disappointment that was, no doubt, worthy of her hopes and ambitions. This Saturday morning, Nantenin Keita experienced the worst of what the Paralympic Games can inflict. They can lift you so high if you succeed. But they can also bring you down to earth if you fail. Even if, objectively, her chances of finishing on the podium in the 400m in category 13 seemed low, the Frenchwoman, like any great competitor and champion, could not resign herself to the inevitable. Above all, she wanted to end her story with the Games in a beautiful way, she who announced, at 39, that she would not continue her career until Los Angeles in 2028.

Alas, only 6th on the finish line with a time of 57”43, almost two seconds from the 3rd place snatched by the Portuguese Carolina Duarte (55”52) and very far from the Brazilian champion Rayane Soares Da Silva, who set a new world record in 53”55, Nantenin Keita shed torrents of tears. Inconsolable, despite the support of her loved ones. And when it came time to comment on her performance in the mixed zone, the Frenchwoman was expeditious. “I’m disappointed. I would have liked to be on the podium, but I’m very far from it. I don’t know what to tell you, honestly. I feel like I wasn’t there. I didn’t run the same way I did two days ago, I didn’t have the same legs and I don’t feel like I really expressed myself. That’s what frustrates me. I finished the race without being lactic. In a 400m, not finishing lactic means you messed up during the race.”

A few moments earlier, speaking to France Télévision, she had also confided one of the reasons for her immense dismay. “I’m so disappointed because everyone was there to cheer me on. This is the first time my family came to see me run and I’m leaving like this. It really hurts my heart.” It is true that despite the early morning schedule, the public came in large numbers to the Stade de France for this last day in the Saint-Denis stadium. The athlete will not add a 5th Paralympic medal to his formidable collection, which includes his title in Rio in the 400m in 2016 (plus a silver medal and two bronze medals). He will most certainly need time to digest this failed farewell to the Games. But even if his last lap did not live up to his expectations, nothing will erase his record.