Jean-Philippe Gatien has resigned from his position as sports director of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee. According to Insidethegames, which first reported the news on Jan. 27, Gatien stepped down due to “personal reasons.”
Aurélie Merle, executive director of sports competition and deputy sports director on the committee, has taken over the role.
Gatien, 54, is a retired French table tennis player and Olympic medalist. He won silver in the singles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and bronze in doubles, with Patrick Chila, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, adding to several other national and international victories that make him the greatest French table tennis player of all time. In December 2021, Gatien had stepped down from his role as president of the board at INSEP, France’s National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance, after seven years at the helm to focus on his duties at Paris 2024.
