Every year, the best hurdlers on the planet come together at the Wanda Diamond League Meeting de Paris in the knowledge that their presence is eagerly awaited. In fact, some 18,000 spectators flock to the Charl\u00e9ty Stadium for a guaranteed showstopper, along with the cream of France\u2019s high hurdle specialists keen to honour the tradition of excellence in the 110 m hurdles, in a country where their stellar predecessors include Guy Drut, St\u00e9phane Caristan and Ladji Doucour\u00e9. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year saw yet another Frenchman, in the person of Sasha Zhoya, secure victory in Paris ahead of all the hot favourites. This native of Perth (Australia), a member of the Clermont Auvergne Athl\u00e9tisme club, almost withdrew from the competition in the heats, before posting a fabulous finish outdoors in lane 8 to snatch victory in 13\u2019\u201915, equalling his personal best at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Meeting de Paris has a special place in my heart. It was on the Charl\u00e9ty track last year that I bagged my first Diamond League win. I\u2019m eager to rediscover the public, who were absolutely incredible, as I know how much that spurs me on and enables me to compete in the best possible conditions to perform well. It\u2019s going to be a great battle as it\u2019ll be an elite line-up with Grant (Holloway) and the top French athletes like Wilhem (Belocian) and Just (Kwaou-Mathey), but that\u2019s just the way I like it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turning the situation to his advantage in the first two legs of the Grand Slam Track in Kingston (Jamaica) in early April and then again this weekend in Miami (United States), where his versatility worked wonders in the 110 m hurdles and the 100 m, Sasha Zhoya even treated himself to a new personal best with a time of 13\u201d06, posting France\u2019s third best performance of all time behind Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (12\u2019\u201995) and his coach Ladji Doucour\u00e9 (12\u2019\u201998). Due to celebrate his 23rd birthday just five days after the meeting organised in the south of the French capital, he will be keen to finally shatter the 13\u2019\u2019 time and join a very select group alongside his two compatriots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just Kwaou-Mathey is also eager to be a part of the sub-13\u2019\u2019 family of course. The Norman athlete from Evreux AC, who suffered an Achilles tendon rupture in April 2024, has made a thundering comeback over the winter, the high point of which was a European bronze in the 60 m hurdles. He will be competing on home turf at Charl\u00e9ty, where he has already improved on his personal best three times with 13\u2019\u201927 in 2022, then 13\u2019\u201925 and 13\u2019\u201909 in 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019d incredibly motivated at the prospect of competing in the Meeting de Paris this year, exclaims the 25-year-old hurdler, who last raced a 110 m hurdles way back in September 2023. I have some fantastic memories of it as I\u2019ve already smashed my personal best three times. As someone who was born in Paris, running in front of my loved ones is always a highlight and I really feed off this energy, which is so intense with all the fans in the stands. After last year\u2019s injury, I was able to get back to the peak of fitness over the winter and I\u2019m dreaming of a new personal best in the French capital thanks to the heat of the competition.\u201d Deprived of the chance to perform at the Olympic Games last year due to a serious injury, Just Kwaou-Mathey has his sights on rekindling his love affair with the City of Light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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