Frenchmen Camille Lecointre and Jérémie Mion train on their 470 off Hyères (south of France) on April 21, 2023 for their preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games (Nicolas TUCAT)
Both ex-world champions, Camille Lecointre and Jérémie Mion will aim for gold at the 2024 Olympics in 470, a now mixed discipline. Until the Paris Games, the coxswain from Le Havre and her teammate tell AFP about their journey.
In this fifth episode, they look back on their first half results, the difficult discovery of a new boat and the test-event which begins next week in Marseille, where they are hoping for a podium.
. Aim “a bit above”
Camille Lecointre: “With Palma, Hyères and the European Championships, we had three big competitions in a row where we ended up well placed. It was tough and it’s good to have kept up the pace, without poor performance. 5th, 7th and 4th, so our current level is Top 5. We are aiming for a bit higher, we have to improve further.”
Jérémie Mion: “The rhythm of competitions prevented us from working on large files + gear + or technique. We stayed on our achievements and we tried to manage as well as possible with what we had, failing to be able to develop things ” It was really intense and all the crews come out of these three months tested. The satisfaction of the Euro is the victory in the medal-race, a first together. It’s good because it’s a special moment , with few boats, things go quickly. But I think we have proven at other times that we can do it. In Hyères, for example, we finish 7th but in the finals we are first in the fleet. just pays for two days of qualifying where we broke, desalinated… We had everything.”
. The surprises of the new boat
Lecointre: “In Hyères, we took out a new boat. At one point, you have to go there looking for the +least worst+ moment. But we had a lot of wind and there were things that didn’t hold up, the boat wasn’t yet made reliable. A new boat, it comes out of the factory, it’s ridden by guys we don’t know… Even if the mold is the same, there are a lot of things that we discover, small differences that appear. We don’t know how it dried, we didn’t supervise the construction… The offshore racing guys spend their time on the site. We recover something that comes out of a trailer.”
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. Benchmarks and lines of work
Mion: “The first objective at the test-event is to move up a notch above the international competition. We are around 5th place and we would like to try to jump on the podium. The second, everything just as important is getting our bearings on the race course for next year in a real regatta configuration, with pressure, seeing how it works, what to do technically and tactically. good benchmarks for next year, good lines of work. The format is very different from what we do in the championships because there will only be about twenty boats. It is much less than usual, almost like a medal-race. For tactics and starts, it will change everything and it will be the same as the Olympics.”
. Charge mentale
Lecointre: “We also want to gain experience in managing pressure. It’s very important for the Games. If we qualify, there will be pitfalls that we will avoid in 2024 because we will have learned at test-event. Living the Games at home is new and we discover a lot of things, we are much more in demand.”
Mion: “This mental load, I hadn’t measured it and it’s a challenge. I’m trying to get out of it but without success. Yesterday I had eight messages from people from different backgrounds who want to see you, to do an interview, the family asking for tickets… Before, it was never a subject. Rio, it was five people who came to break everything. You managed. There, it’s all the world. You have to be careful that it doesn’t become a disadvantage. We’re not in the same bubble as usual.”
Interview by Stanislas TOUCHOT
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