France recruits top badminton coach for 2024 Olympics
The French badminton federation has appointed Spaniard Fernando Rivas, the coach of 2016 Olympic champion Carolina Marin, to a senior role ahead of the 2024 Games in Paris.
Published : Mar 09, 2022 18:52 IST
The French badminton federation has appointed Spaniard Fernando Rivas, the coach of 2016 Olympic champion Carolina Marin, to a senior role ahead of the 2024 Games in Paris.
Rivas will remain coach of three-time world champion Marin and split his time between the two positions, after signing a part-time contract that runs through the next Olympics.
French badminton president Yohan Penel made the decision to bring Rivas on board "to add internationally recognised badminton expertise" to its coaching staff already in place.
France has never won an Olympic badminton medal. None of the country's players made it beyond the group stage at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
The arrival of Rivas is the latest in a series of high-profile foreign recruitments in French sport made with a view to 2024.
Dutch swimming coach Jacco Verhaeren, German rowing guru Jurgen Grobler and South Korean archery coach Oh Seon-Tek have all been hired to help France's medal push on home soil.