Executive of the Brazilian rugby sevens team, Raquel Kochhann experienced the Paris Olympic Games as a consecration. Designated standard bearer of her delegation, a year and a half after being diagnosed with breast cancer, the girl from Saudades has found the light again, in Paris, and is finally coming out of a long tunnel.
Denim jacket and white pants, Raquel Kochhann enjoys the boat ride in the rain. In the early evening of July 26, she cannot hide her wide smile. Both of his hands are busy waving the Brazilian flag. In front of the rest of her delegation, she strolls along the Seine. She’s not dreaming, she’s there, at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. “It was a magical momentshe says. I was really excited to enjoy all the little moments, that everyone would be watching us. Not just the few seconds we were seen on TV, but every minute we were on the boat. » Normally, only medal-winning athletes can carry the flag of the Brazilian delegation. A small sprain was made for Kochhann, 32, who ended the biggest fight of his life in Paris.
It was scary
January 2023, a year and a half earlier. The 7s and 15s international is nursing a knee injury. During her recovery, doctors diagnosed her with breast cancer. “For me it was scaryremembers Luiza Campos, one of her best friends and teammate in the selection since 2012. I knew his family had a history with cancer. But I also knew that Raquel was so stubborn that it wasn’t going to affect her negatively. When she found out about the cancer and people were saying she might never play again, I knew she was going to fix it. She’s too stubborn to let something like that stop her. » Born in Saudades, a small, modest town in the Santa Catarina region in the southeast of the country, Kochhann grew up far from rugby. His big brother Raphael and his little sister Izabelle are not into sports. “She comes from a region where there was massive immigration in the 20th century, from Germany, Poland and Italyexplains Victor Ramalho, communications manager at the Brazilian rugby federation. It’s a small town truly connected to its origins. Sometimes, when she speaks with her family, the conversation is in German. Part of his family comes from there. »
Raquel only returned to the field in December 2023. She returned to the 7s circuit in January 2024. Ruasmida/Brasil Rugby/SVNS photos
His arrival in rugby was far from natural, in a country which had barely 7,000 licensees in 2021, while the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio had created a craze for rugby 7s. “When I started, my family had no idea what rugby wasrembobine-t-elle. But suddenly, I introduced the sport to them and even to everyone in the city. Nobody knew rugby. » She started in 2011, at almost 19 years old, while studying sports science. While she coaches a futsal team, one of her players invites her to participate in a rugby tournament. “At first contact, I loved it. I knew it was my sport. » The switch between football and rugby during the years at university is “fairly common” in Brazil according to Ramalho.
Rugby to keep the connection
Barely a few months later, she joined the national team at 15s and 7s. She played numerous international matches and participated in the Olympic Games in Rio, Tokyo and Paris, becoming the only Brazilian rugby 7s player to achieve this hat-trick. 10th in the world rankings, the Auriverde selection finished the Olympic tournament last summer in the same place. Which doesn’t really matter to Raquel Kochhann, who is especially delighted to be able to play again. “During the whole rehabilitation process, I was just thinking about the next stepconfides the one who dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. I was just thinking day by day. First, I thought about being able to play again. Then, to play with the national team, to be competitive and finally to be part of the team during the Olympics. » With a chemo session every three weeks, the striker and former captain of the national team carried out all her treatment in Sao Paulo, surrounded by three doctors.
Raquel only returned to the field in December 2023. She returned to the 7s circuit in January 2024. Ruasmida/Brasil Rugby/SVNS photos
For several months, she chose to stay with the national team and not return home. “We treated her as if she had nothingcontinues Luiza Campos, who discovered the selection at the same time as Kochhann. When she told the whole team that she had cancer, the first thing she asked us was to not feel sorry for her, not to be afraid to talk or do things with her. On the contrary, she said that if we wanted to make jokes, it was better, because it would make her feel like she was still part of the group. » Throughout 2023, Kochhann will be in contact with the team. Rugby allows him to make a connection, to give meaning to a trying convalescence. “For example for the biceps exercise, I normally lift 40 kg on each armshe illustrates. But at that time, it was 4 kg per arm. There was a time when I wasn’t feeling well. The doctor told me he didn’t know how strong or fragile the cancer was. He didn’t know if I was going to be able to play again. That’s all I was thinking about. I asked him to be honest with me and tell me if I had a chance of playing again. If it had been no, I would have immediately planned to help the team in a different role, not as an athlete. But he told me: “No, be patient, maybe you can come back”. »
