A few days after the announcement of her signing at Stade Français to carry out her double judo and rugby project with a view to the Los Angeles Olympic Games, Amandine Buchard spoke to the press this Tuesday evening at the head office of her new club in Paris .
She arrived all smiles around 5 p.m. at the Géo André stadium a few steps from the Parc des Princes in Paris where she had met the press to present her new challenge: participating in the Los Angeles games in judo and rugby. 7. Relaxed and surrounded by the management of Stade Français, Amandine Buchard presented her project for almost thirty minutes, taking care to remind “(that she) I’m no one in rugby“. A clarification that Yohanne Penot, sports director of the Stade Français Paris association, did not fail to comment on and outbid by saying “Amandine is an average player for us“In other words, no gift will be given to the 29-year-old from Martinique, even if the capital club side does not expect to see her perform any time soon.”At the rugby level, we don’t expect Amandine to respond right away. This is a four-year project” specifies Philippe Jaulain, president of the rugby section of Stade français.
This idea of reconciling the two practices at the same time had been germinating in the head of the bronze medalist of the Paris 2024 Games for a while. She had even already taken a rugby degree since the start of the year and was already participating in a few matches. “I needed a resource activity, because judo wasn’t going well and that was all I had. And when things don’t go well in judo, everything else doesn’t go wellshe confides. So returning to rugby was obvious to me, and when I started again in January, I was so fulfilled that I continued“.
The story between the judokate, Olympic vice-champion in Tokyo and the Stade français began after the Paris 2024 Games, when the Martinican found herself without a club. The stadium was the first club to reach out to me, to listen to meadvantage Amandine Buchard. They heard my needs and did not hesitate for a second to support me. It warmed my heart.“
Launched in a desire to restructure and return to the top, the capital club found in the Martiniquaise a cornerstone in this renewal. “After the Games, we had several requests from several athletes who said that Stade Français is a great brand. […] And when we got in touch with Amandine, we said to ourselves that it stood out. His project to combine judo and rugby is typically the DNA of the French stadium. She will be able to share her experience of the highest competitions and show that you can be good at several sports at the same time.”indicates Matthieu Tanret, general director of the French stadium.
Alternating the two practices will also require a lot of work from the athlete, but the challenge does not frighten him. “I’m a competitor and I never give up” she says. In judo, Amandine Buchard competes in the category of less than 52 kilos, but for her new practice of rugby, she plans to go up to 56 kilos and stabilize there while coming back down to her weight competition for tatami mats.I would only be at 52 kilos four times a year, she warns. To juggle between the two, diet will be important, and good nutritional monitoring will be necessary. My physical trainers will put together training plans for me to be competitive in both disciplines.“
But before seeing the 29-year-old athlete running with the ball under his arm in the Parisian jersey, we will have to wait. Because Amandine Buchard will for the moment play with the Noisy-le-Grand club, a partner team of Stade Français. “For me, it’s the perfect project to combine the two, because I didn’t feel justified in immediately joining a high-level club when I had proven nothing in rugby, she admits.
I didn’t want to arrive as a diva
The other reason given by the staff of the Parisian club is the adaptation time between the two disciplines and the injuries. “We don’t want to skip the steps. In Noisy which plays in federal two in category C, the tackles are made below the waist while the Pink [équipe féminine de rugby du Stade Français, NDLR] evolve in category A, the tackles are made below the shoulders, so we have to support Amandine in all that, even if I have no doubt about the contacts”explains Yohanne Penot, sports director.
In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about the mental aspect with Amandine Buchard and her way of managing stress. The judoka missed certain competitions and sometimes had to give up certain events such as the last Grand Slam in Paris to try to preserve herself mentally. Today, in this new project, she says to herself “fulfilled and at peace with her choices“, ready to chase away his old demons.”Today, if I had to stop judo I would not be frustrated, because I have achieved many of my goals ” she assures.
I don’t put pressure on rugby, because I’m nobody. I will progress faster than in judo, I don’t have any particular pressure, I would say that I even have less than before.
Freed from the “pression“Amandine Buchard now has four years ahead of her to complete her project.
