The immense frustration of the failure of Paris was followed by the surprise of Los Angeles. After being rejected several times from entering the Olympic program, squash finally holds its rings. The IOC approved on Monday the decision to integrate it, with four other additional sports, into the program of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. “We are obviously delighted for the players and the staff,” Julien Müller, president of the French Federation, reacted on Monday. . We didn’t believe it much, but we learned that it smelled good a few days ago. »
Camille Serme, former world No. 2, who had invested a lot in previous campaigns, also received the news with surprise: “Paris had been such a disappointment, I had stopped believing in it a little,” admits the Former Créteil player, retired for a little over a year and who is preparing to give birth to her first child. I believe that the host country worked a lot to achieve this result. »
“There is a real desire to be part of the Olympic family. »
Julien Müller, president of the French Squash Federation
This time, no campaign, but a new candidacy conducted discreetly. “The work of the American team has a lot to do with it,” says Müller, “that of the international federation, and the fact that the Olympic authorities and the federation have become acquainted during previous candidacies. The feedback made it possible to rework the file and understand the gaps. What has been done before helps to say that this is not a haphazard application, there is a real desire to be part of the Olympic family. »
A format to be determined
Obviously, the presence of squash, an additional sport, is not guaranteed in subsequent editions. Brisbane 2032 may introduce its own choice of additional sports in four years, but a win is a win.
The tournament format and method of qualification are not yet determined, but there is expected to be a men’s and women’s singles, with a field of 16 to 32 players and a cap of 2 players per country, a doubles, a mixed doubles and a team tournament, further details the president of the FFS. “We are also excited because we will have chances of medals. »
Victor Crouin is already planning
One of them will undoubtedly be blue number 1 Victor Crouin, who had put this Olympic dream aside and is now planning to win a gold medal. “Before, the Olympics were a dream, now it’s a goal that I will be able to achieve,” says the current 11th in the world (7th in March, his best ranking). Crouin, aged 24, was one of the ambassadors of squash’s bid for Paris 2024. From now on, the Californian deadline will “certainly be at the top” of his priorities.
“Five years goes by very quickly,” he notes. In Los Angeles, I will be 29 years old, I will be in peak form, I will have gained a lot of experience. I’m going to have to sit down, think about it and put a schedule in place to perform as well as possible during this competition. »
If the former Harvard student in Boston has many friends on the East Coast, he does not know the West Coast, but is looking forward to evolving “in a familiar place”. “I’m used to university sports and the atmospheres that can be created there. It’s very exciting and it increases our motivation, especially mine. »
Indeed, he is not the only one to feel the motivation growing. Could Camille Serme, 34, imagine returning to competition for the occasion? “My companion just tickled me about a comeback. But 2028 is far away, with children… It depends on the method of qualification. If they do compared to the world ranking, it’s sure not. That would mean returning to the real life of a high-level athlete and I am not capable of it and I no longer want to. But if there is a qualifying tournament, why not! she smiled. We see athletes who come back at 38-39 years old. It would be the fun of a lifetime. »
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