2023-10-21 04:40:47
The shadow of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the Minister of Sports and the Olympic Games, hung over the French athletics team, gathered this week in Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) for a cohesion course . At the end of August, the minister had “invited” the staff to her office, freshly returned from the Budapest World Championships with a single bronze relay medal, won during the final event (the men’s 4x400m).
A few months before the Olympics, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra called for a commando operation, around a French team gathered around fifteen potentially medal-winning athletes. If she had assured that she would be present in Saint-Malo for the debriefing of Romain Barras, the high level director of the Federation (FFA), “agenda concerns” transformed the meeting into an exchange by video.
Enough to “frustrate” certain athletes and private coaches who were hoping for a rethink and a real debate, with the minister as mediator. High-level boss at the National Sports Agency (ANS), Claude Onesta, long announced, did not push as far as Brittany either, leaving the FFA to carry out its transformation alone until the Paris Olympics.
???????? Some of the best athletes from the French athletics team are gathered in Saint-Malo, for a week of cohesion, training, medical tests, sharing of experience and thalassotherapy at the @thermesmarins. pic.twitter.com/yXSA3KCOCC
— FFAthlétisme (@FFAthletisme) October 17, 2023
If Romain Barras imagined coming to Saint-Malo with around thirty athletes, he applied the ministerial desire to close the ranks around around fifteen medalists. Exit therefore, executives like Renaud Lavillenie, Pascal Martinot Lagarde or Mélina Robert-Michon, all former medalists, but on whom France is no longer really counting on to shine next summer.
Other athletes, for various good reasons, left Saint-Malo before the end of the deadline. Not enough to dampen the good humor of the Blues staff, who intend, through exchanges, activities and shared meals, to reconnect with the collective dynamic and put the French team on the right track, 9 months before the Olympics.
With Renaud Lavillenie, “we talk about the objective of qualifying”
“To define the list of those present, we looked at the results of the last two seasons and we compared them with the accessibility to the medal,” explains Romain Barras. We had to decide, explain our choices to those we didn’t choose. Concerning Mélina (Robert-Michon), the world level in discus has exploded so much that even if she beats her French record, it will be difficult to be on the podium. Renaud (Lavillenie) has just had surgery, currently with him we are discussing the objective of qualifying for the Olympics. What means that these athletes are not there is the context of the fortnight, but of course, we continue to believe in them. »
The athletes present in Saint-Malo, some with their personal coaches (a wish of the Minister, some athletes deploring the lack of consideration of their coaches), should benefit from very special attention, not necessarily from additional financial aid, the FFA believes that the rules regarding support are clear and already important.
In Saint-Malo, the athletes provided multiple treatments – “sometimes treatments they are not used to”, underlines Romain Barras -, participated in activities such as a catamaran outing or a game of laser tag, exchanged with athletes, notably Jean Galfione, Olympic pole vault champion in 1996. In December, a larger French team will travel to South Africa for a new course. Other more intimate moments are planned, particularly after the winter season.
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