Daily Times

France will almost triple their gold medal tally from the Tokyo Olympics in Paris and should fulfil President Emmanuel Macron’s target of a top-five finish on the overall medals table, according to a forecast by Nielsen’s Gracenote.

The final edition of the Gracenote virtual medals table, which is compiled using results data from key global and continental competitions since the Tokyo Games, is predicting 27 gold and 60 total medals for the host nation. Local gold medal hopes include Teddy Riner, aiming for a third individual title in judo, the rugby sevens team with scrumhalf Antoine Dupont at the helm, and the men’s soccer team managed by Thierry Henry and captained by Alexandre Lacazette.

France finished eighth in the gold tally in Tokyo three years ago with 10 golds but is on course for its best Olympics since 1900, when it hosted the Games for the first time and topped the table with 27 golds.

Gracenote is forecasting that the United States will finish on top of the medals table for a fourth successive Games with 39 golds and 112 medals in all, although China could run them close if they can add a few more golds to their predicted 34.