Through Aline Chatel
Published on
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Their blue eyes sparkle in a big smile. Flavie Renouard and Valentin Gondouin savor. The two licensed athletes Mondeville-Hérouville have experienced the joy of a medal during European U21 Championships organized in Tallinn (Estonia) from July 8 to 11, 2021.
Over 3000 meters steeplechase, Flavie Renouard had the consecration by adorning herself with gold, she who had already won the title at the French Elite Championships two weeks earlier. His club mate, fresh in athletics, meanwhile won bronze over 10,000 meters. We met the two Norman gems on Friday July 16, 2021 during a small ceremony organized in their honor by the City of Mondeville.
Sport in Caen: Was your medal the objective of these European Championships before leaving?
Valentin Gondouin : The goal was to finish a finalist, so in the top eight, but I knew I had the means to finish in the top five, or even on the podium. I had high hopes of winning a medal (smile).
???? ????????́???????????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????????!
???????? Valentin Gondouin took 3rd place in the 10,000m in 29’24”40 at # Tallinn2021 !
✌️ First final of the competition and two French people on the podium! pic.twitter.com/tU8OEe5jXH
– FFA (@FFAthletisme) July 8, 2021
Flavie Renouard: The feelings were good in training and the motivation is still at its peak. I didn’t have a specific objective but I was hoping for a podium too, given the lap times and the competitors there were. The idea was to have the best possible race, including tactically. I wasn’t necessarily expecting the title. It was a bit of a dream come true.
Seeing Valentin medalist from day one, did that boost you?
F.R. : Yes ! We were in the stands, we encouraged our French. When we saw Florian (Le Pallec) and Valentin on the podium, we said “wow”. It was so good. It gave us emotions and made us want to do like them, to bring back medals for France.
How did you react to the finish of your respective race?
VG: First selection, first medal, so many new features! Full of sensations. It makes you want to give yourself the means to be able to relive moments like this one.
F.R. : I was super happy and moved, but I didn’t really realize what was going on. It was different from what I had felt at the French Elite Championships. I had a hard time realizing.
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???????? Flavie Renouard won the final of the 3000 m steeplechase in 9’51”02 at # Tallinn2021 !
???? Magnificent sixth medal for France! pic.twitter.com/3UijY7wmjY
– FFA (@FFAthletisme) July 10, 2021
“Always have fun”
You are both in an exceptional progression. How do you analyze it?
F.R. : We are training more and more, already. We are more and more invested. And we just like it (smile).
VG: I think the more we progress, the more we want to add small elements to progress even more. From year to year, we add something to better recover, we add a session, etc. In fact, we move forward like this one thing leading to another. The more we perform, the more we want to go even further. Appetite comes with eating (smile).
F.R. : On sessions, I sometimes want to redo repetitions, rivers, hedges. It is my father who tells me to stop.
VG: Slower, slower (laughs)!
Are you a hard worker?
F.R. : I don’t know if that’s the right word because I love what I do so much that I don’t feel like I’m working. I have a taste for effort.
VG: I really only train for competition. There is fun, all the same, but the competition is the result of all the efforts.
F.R. : We couldn’t train without these deadlines, that’s for sure!
What about invisible training, healthy living, food?
VG: Obviously, I’m going to do a little fewer parties than everyone else, especially during competitive periods, but I allow myself the right to eat what I want when I want. It doesn’t hurt me. Will it be an element to improve to save seconds? Perhaps. But for now, it’s hard (smile). It’s harder than training, even.
F.R. : You always have to keep having fun. Otherwise, at some point, it won’t work anymore.
You were two in Europe, two medalists. Does it help to have this internal dynamic?
VG: I find it crazy that two people from the same club, a girl and a guy, go to the European Championships. It makes me happy for the club and for Normandy, for the Norman middle distance.
F.R. : It’s really nice to represent our club but also our loved ones. And sharing that together is even more magical.
VG: I admit that I was in stress on your race! I was at the hotel because I had the 5000 meters in the evening. The first five minutes, I said to myself: “she must not fall”. Afterwards, when you left, I said to myself: “it’s good, she’s going to the end! “.
Did she impress you, Flavie?
VG: Ah yes. She was above the rest! There was a lot of mastery in what she did.
“The competition, we love it”
Do you live up to your performance?
VG: When I first started I never thought about running at the paces I train. It was impossible for me. But you get used to it (smile).
F.R. : In fact, we’re so deeply into our thing that we don’t necessarily realize it. Sometimes, we even find that normal in view of our training. It still happens that we surprise ourselves!
Did you surprise yourself this year?
F.R. : Not necessarily in terms of lap times, since the training sessions were really representative of my record. But at the championship level, yes, anyway. I managed to be present.
You share this common point of being stimulated by big dates, and absolutely not inhibited by the pressure.
F.R. : We love it! Racing is always a pleasure to do, to discover new places, new competitors… It’s always more stimulating.
VG: I’m more of the type who wants to go back to training as soon as the competition is over. You have to know how to disconnect a little, but it is not easy.
How is the rest of this year shaping up for you?
VG: There will be the U23 cross-country races in December, with a selection race. I think that will be the next goal to come.
F.R. : This will also be my goal. We will try to stay together with Valentin!
VG: There will be a lot of competition. It’s not like on the track, where there is the 10,000, the 5000, the 3000… There, there are only crossmans.
“The Olympics in the back of your mind”
What does the prospect of Paris 2024 inspire you?
F.R. : Before this year, I hadn’t thought about it so much. I didn’t think it was possible. There, I realize little by little that there may be a way.
VG: For me, it remains a utopia today. Afterwards, you never know. There are athletes who have come a long way in two years. I have it in the back of my head but I’m not focused on it. There are still a lot of steps before that, starting with performing with the big boys. We must already pass the course before thinking of the Olympics, for my part.
And your European medals, where will they end up?
VG: It will be hung next to the jersey in a frame in my room.
F.R. : Well seen ! Mine will be next to the one I got at the European cross country championships and that one (it designates her medal of champion of France, editor’s note).
You are starting to have a nice little collection …
F.R. : The collection is gradually growing.
And that’s just the beginning !
F.R. : I hope (smile).
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