Crowned European team champions this Sunday in Zadar (Croatia), Alexis and Félix Lebrun and Simon Gauzy are aware of having marked the history of French table tennis, 27 years after the generation of Damien Eloi, Nicolas Chatelain and Philippe Gatien.
They put Europe back at their feet. 27 years after the last French title in the event, the Blues of the Lebrun brothers and Simon Gauzy were crowned European team champions on Sunday in Zadar, Croatia, where they soundly beat Romania (3-0). They thus achieve a “Grand Slam” hoped for by the Lebrun coach throughout the year, after the continental titles acquired in 2024 (Alexis Lebrun in singles and doubles with Félix) and during the European Top 16 by Alexis Lebrun, or that in singles by Félix Lebrun at the 2023 European Games. Especially since the team had checked this date in the calendar.
“It's a pride to say that we're making history. We've made this competition a priority for this season. It's been some time since we set out to reach our best level in this competition,” confides Alexis Lebrun this Sunday in the show Bartoli Time on RMC. The older brother launched his teammates perfectly by totally dominating Iulian Chirita (3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-7), helpless in the face of the game imposed by the Montpellier native. Eduard Ionescu then tried to annoy Félix Lebrun. He achieved it, for the duration of one set. But the Frenchman gained momentum again to win without too much difficulty (3-1: 11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4). “It’s like a final, it’s a different match,” recalled the double bronze medalist at the last Olympic Games.
France wants to titillate China
As a symbol, it was the big brother of this team, Simon Gauzy, who offered the missing point to the French team. “They don't have the experience of having lived through difficult times,” recalled the 30-year-old table tennis player, who until then had been content with two silver and five bronze medals in major international championships.
This domination positions France among the best, if not the best nation in Europe, ahead of the Germans and the Swedes. The Tricolores assure us, the objective now is to bite the ankles of the Chinese, real references in table tennis. “The biggest objective is to go after them. Global competition is getting stronger and stronger. We know it will be very hard. The objective is to progress every day,” adds Félix Lebrun. The French are also among the best ranked players individually. The trio of indisputable starters in Zadar, Félix Lebrun (5th), Alexis Lebrun (12th) and Simon Gauzy (18th) demonstrated it at the table, more than a year after winning the bronze medal together at the Paris Olympic Games.
Simon Gauzy assures him, “there will be strong competition” internally to represent France at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. A place where dreams are allowed to bring down the dominant nation of the discipline. But everything in its time: the Lebrun brothers and Simon Gauzy will take the opportunity to celebrate this title at the European Team Championships, around a game of video games. Where there will surely be some proper bickering and chambering.
