As the European and World Championships loom, the epee fencer licensed in Rodez is aiming for an individual podium, which would confirm his progress for the year.
Heading for the major championships. At the end of a World Cup season that he ended in the shoes of the world number 7, Alexandre Bardenet, the fencing Rodez Aveyon swordsman, sees new big goals rising in front of him. Selected for the European Championships, from June 18 to 22 in Antalya (Turkey) and in an extremely favorable position to go to the Worlds (the selection has not yet been formalized), from July 15 to 18 in Cairo (Egypt), the resident of Insep approaches his end of the season with great ambitions. “I am better equipped than ever for an individual and team medal”explains the interested party.
With even hopes of gold on the collective level, within a tricolor quartet which also includes Romain Cannone, reigning Olympic champion, Yannick Borel, world champion 2018, and Nelson Lopez-Pourtier, revelation of the season thanks to his victory at the Monal challenge in Paris. “It’s time to show that France is the reference nation for the sword”says the one who won the world team title with the Blues in 2019.
“The most successful season of my career”
But it is also to an individual charm that Alexandre Bardenet aspires, at the end of what he considers to be “the most successful season of my career”. With two podiums (2nd in Bern, 3rd in Paris) and great regularity in World Cup events, the 32-year-old swordsman will come to Turkey with confidence at the zenith. Which was not so obvious as that in September, at the time of the recovery, after the disappointment of the Olympic Games, during which he did not realize his dreams of a podium. “There was a collective questioning after the Olympics, because Romain’s medal was a bit like the tree that hid the forest”, he explains. Changes have taken place, with the arrival of the new coaches in charge of the French epee team, Hugues Obry and Gauthier Grumier.
Erase the inconveniences of the Covid period
Individually, Alexandre Bardenet recognizes “training harder than before”. Above all, he believes that he has definitively turned the page on the inconveniences linked to the Covid epidemic. “With the confinements, the curfews, I could not train as I would have likedhe said. I had weight issues, a lot of muscle wasting and it took me a while to come back to the physical level.” A handicap all the more consequent as its usual strong points are located precisely in the athletic field. “One of my strengths is the ability to move everywhere, to have good support”he slips.
With his completed season, the swordsman has proven that these inconveniences are a thing of the past. He even believes that he has crossed a threshold, “in terms of professionalism and physicality”. He sees in it the mark of his new coaches, two Olympic champions and multiple world champions, “extremely demanding and quite inspiring”.
“His season reminds me of what he did in juniors, when he was consistently in the top 10”abounds Jonathan Bonnaire, president of Era, to salute his progress. “I am not surprised that he reaches such a levelhe adds about his former partner in the club and in the France team. Alexander has matured. He has found stability in life and he is reaching the perfect age to perform, because epee is a discipline of maturity.” And why not this summer, during major international events.
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