Pierre-Ambroise BOSSE (FRA) 800 M - 21h10
« I’m very happy to be there. I’m in a top shape. I had a 10 days training camp in Agadir, it helped me a lot, as usual. I’m so well welcomed in Agadir. About the meeting in Paris, I think the athmosphere in the stadium will depend a lot on the result of the World Cup game between France and Argentina. »
Jimmy VICAUT (FRA) 100 M - 21h52
« I’m very happy and excited to run on Saturday. I’m feeling at home in Paris. I’m here to win »
Armand DUPLANTIS (SWE) POLE VAULT - 19h32
« I put some pressure on Renaud (Lavillenie) after I beat him at Montreuil, but I don’t think I am the guy to beat. Renaud is the big name here, so I will need to play my A game to beat him on Saturday. »
Sam KENDRICKS (USA) POLE VAULT - 19h32
« This event is not about winning all the time. So, I try to be the best I can every time I jump. But I’ve never pretended to be the best. I follow Armand for at least 10 years now, I’m maybe his biggest fan. I won in Paris last year, so I have a little experience on this track. Last year I jumped in Lausanne two days before Paris, I remember spending all my time before the meeting sleeping and resting. »
Marie-Josée TA LOU (CIV) 200 M - 21h33
« I hope to beat my best time every time i run. For the race on Saturday, I wish the others girls could push me so I can take the best of myself. I don’t want to be focused on a record, either my PB (10.85) or the African record (10.78 by Murielle Ahouré), because I think it would be difficult to stay relax and to execute well. I started to run in France, I was even a member of a team here in 2014, Stade Français, so I have a very strong relationship with France. It’s always a pleasure for me to come here. People and media in France still support me. »
Christophe LEMAITRE (FRA) 200 M - 20h30
« There is not so much to improve to run faster. I just need more work. I need more speed. I had a strong training on 200 m, i worked hard on endurance and long distance. But I had to put my training for 100 m on hold since the French indoor championship, I was injured and I needed more time than expected to recover. But I had some good training sessions on speed since my race in Geneva, so I hope to be able to show it on Saturday evening. I will also run on 100 m in race B, where I hope to do the minima for the European championship. »
Sandra PERKOVIC (CRO) DISCUS THROW - 18h40
« I just competed yesterday at the Mediterranean Games in Spain. But before I had a break. I needed that. Season will be long, I want to get my 5th European title in Berlin. So, I needed to go back in a training camp. It helped me to be back in shape. For the event on Saturday, I hope to do as long, and maybe better than my throw last year in Paris where I won with 68.48 m. The field will be strong with the two girls from Cuba. And I know we can expect some very good conditions. »
Renaud LAVILLENIE (FRA) POLE VAULT - 19h32
« The MEETING de PARIS is extremely important for me. It’s THE meting for us, French athletes. We don’t have so many opportunities to compete in front of a home crowd, so I think we need to make the best of it and to enjoy every moment. I have a special memory of this meeting in 2016, just a few weeks after Rio Olympics. The crowd supported me in an amazing way and I jumped 5,93 m. With Sam (Kendricks) and Armand (Duplantis), we are very good friends. Armand stayed for 10 days in Clermont-Ferrand training with me after the meeting in Montreuil. About tomorrow, I want to have fun, work well and I want to win. »
Mariya LASITSKENE (ANA) HIGH JUMP - 20h10
« I just competed yesterday at the Mediterranean Games in Spain. But before I had a break. I needed that. Season will be long, I want to get my 5th European title in Berlin. So, I needed to go back in a training camp. It helped me to be back in shape. For the event on Saturday, I hope to do as long, and maybe better than my throw last year in Paris where I won with 68.48 m. The field will be strong with the two girls from Cuba. And I know we can expect some very good conditions. »
Pascal MARTINOT-LAGARDE (FRA) 110 M HURDLES - 19h17
« I had a very difficult start of season, with many injuries. I needed to be back in shape very fast, and for that I needed a few intense competitions with strong opponents. I was lucky enough to find them, because of Sergey in Montreuil. While running 12.99, he showed me the right rythm to do 13 seconds. Now, I’m feeling healthy. I think I can improve my time race after race. »
Sergey SHUBENKOV (ANA) 110 M HURDLES - 19h17
« I was very happy to run 12.99 in Montreuil, but in the same time very surprised. The race was very late. I was tired because of time difference with Russia. There was no warm up track. And on top of that, I have a 1 month baby. I had so many things in my mind. But the most important thing is a good preparation for competition. So, I try to focus on my training. I’m feeling pretty much the same way here in Paris, so I will maybe beat my PB. »
Ronnie BAKER (USA) 100 M - 21h52
« My defeat last week at the US Championships (2nd behind Noah Lyles) gives me a new motivation. I don’t feel any need of vengeance. Let say that this defeat helped me to get back on track. I’m leading the Diamond League ranking, as I did last season at the same time of the year. Staying on the top is a motivation. About the 100 m on Saturday evening, I don’t really have a specific time in mind. I will try to execute well, from start to finish. If I can do that, the performance will be there, that’s for sure. I’m definitely in a good shape. I had a very good training session earlier this week, one of the best of my season so far. »
Kevin MAYER (FRA) TRIATHLON - 19h10
« I think that I found the perfect way of training myself these least years, with a perfect athletic trainer and the coach that I need. So, I haven’t changed anything these last 3 years. I’m improving step by step. I’m exactly where I planned to be. About the MEETING of PARIS, I’m more than happy to take this opportunity to perform in France in front of a home crowd. It’s not so usual for us. I have never got an occasion to compete in a major championship in France. Each time I compete in Paris, I’m feeling an extra motivation. Last year, I beat two PB on triathlon. For this year, the three events included in the triathlon (110 m hurdles, shot put and long jump) are a perfect mix for me. I managed to organize my season around that. »
Abderrahman SAMBA (QAT) 400 M HURDLES - 20h03
« I’m ready for the race on Saturday. I’m really excited. I’m feeling good, I’m in shape. I’m gonna try to get back the MPM, but it’s not my only goal. Before a competition, I used to look on other athletes performances, or on the meeting record… So I can have a few different goals in mind. About the world record, I think that Kevin Young can be scared because we are a bunch of young guys becoming closer and closer. »
Karsten WARHOLM (NOR) 400 M HURDLES - 20h03
« Abderrahman is an excellent finisher. I’m quite sure he will be again on Saturday. Race will be fast. Time should be very good. When I started athletics, being the best was my goal. I haven’t changed anything about that. Not so long ago, I was only the number 50 in the world. Now I’m at the third place on the world ranking. I’m not so far anymore from the top. I was impressed by the time Rai Benjamin did at the NCAA Championship (47.02). Who wouldn’t ? But athletics is like that, there is always someone to chase. That’s the beauty of this sport. »
Nafissatou THIAM (BEL) HIGH JUMP - 19h10
« Paris is a very special place for me, not very far from where I live. And I’m sure I will always find some good conditions : a passionate crowd, a strong opposition and some high level competitions. I haven’t really trained on high jump in a specific way, because I cannot spend all my time jumping, even if there are some centimeters to gain. I did only one high jump event so far this season, at Götzis, where the result was quite good (2.01 m). Now, I’m looking to repeat that. For the MEETING of PARIS, I hope to do again 2 meters. I’m feeling in a very different mood when I compete in high jump outside an heptathlon. I usually feel a lot more relaxed. I take this event in Paris as a step in my road to Berlin for the European championships. »
