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Judo: the return to the sources of the Gneto sisters

Graduates in the Paris region, Priscilla and Astride Gneto came to rest with their family before facing a year 2021 that will not lack interest with the program of many high-level meetings. They found together this gymnasium of Quatre-Chemins which saw them grow up

The complicity is obvious, and even if on this session Priscilla, the eldest at the height of her 29th spring, the bronze medalist of London Games 2012, directs his sister Astride five years his junior, it is obvious that the pleasure of being together is immense on this tatami of Four-Way which was the scene of their first steps in the discipline.

Since that time many things have happened, from national titles to international titles, the two young women, licensed at the Parisian club of Blanc-Mesnil, have grown up.

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However, spending the end of the year holidays with the family remains a priority according to Priscilla: “The family is essential, the basis of everything. A vital need to recharge your batteries and get out of the sporting context a little, even if you have trained during these holidays. But here in Porto-Vecchio it’s different because we change the air and that is a huge good. “

“2020, a very complicated year”

After 18 years of career, Priscilla still keeps intact this flame that makes great champions, even if she admits that this year 2020 which is coming to an end has been, in particular, hard to manage.

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“It was very complicated in all areas. In March, the confinement brought the whole sport to a very brutal end. From there, despite all the efforts that one could make to keep in shape, it was obvious that the fact of not being able to project towards a goal was a real problem. Sometimes we wondered why we were training, because there was no visibility on the competitions. Mentally it was very hard ”.

2020 which followed a year 2019 marked by his non-selection for the World Championships in Tokyo. “To be honest, I was expecting it a little. I had planted myself during the European Championships. It is nonetheless true that when you learn that you are not going it is difficult to take in, but you have to keep moving forward … “

And precisely, this year 2021, which begins tomorrow, should allow it to bounce back with the sights of the Tokyo Olympic Games which will take place between the end of July and the beginning of August.

“There will be three very important meetings in a very short period of time with the European Championships in April, those of the World in June and finally the Olympics this summer. Suffice to say that there will be no downtime. For my part, I am not pulling out of the blue, but I am preparing myself and I always aim to win a world medal. The key to achieving these goals is to have motivation. Despite having been on the tatami mats for 18 years, I still have so much fun and this is very important for the future. “

As for her position vis-à-vis her younger sister, the answer is very simple: “We share a lot of things, I take advantage of these privileged moments during the holidays to tell him what I observed during the competitions. But when I am on the tatami with Astride, I am no longer the big sister, I am a judokate ”.

“I eat, I sleep, I train for the gold medal in 2024”

Astride’s recovery capacity is evident. Once the kimono removed, practically fresh and above all available, the youngest Gneto looked back on a year 2020 which had started well before becoming more complicated in the fall: “It was pretty good, I was working and I was starting to find my marks in my category and then the Covid arrived. But we felt that it was badly started because we were to do a competition in Germany in February and another in March in Georgia and both had been canceled. Then, we entered a blank period between the months of March and September at the level of competitions. We found the French team in June for an oxygenation course, then later in Montpellier and Soustons. But hey, everyone was in the same boat … “

Astride, here in training with Kevin Nanor, Priscilla's companion.  Twice winner of the European Cup Seniors (in 2016 and 2017), the judoka is a sacred sparring partner for the young Porto-Vecchiaise.  - Photo Hervé Mela

The resumption of competition in autumn was characterized by two mixed meetings. “Whether in Budapest or during the European Championships, I really lacked rhythm and that resulted in a double stop in the quarter-finals”.

An autumn marked, unfortunately, by another important fact, namely the altercation with Margaux Pinot and Madeleine Malonga, her two club partners, forcing the French champion under 52 kg (2019) to file a complaint.

A painful moment in more than one way: “He was fed up. It is always complicated to talk about it today, but I keep moving forward, that’s the main thing. Afterwards, I regret that the club wanted, first, to minimize the matter, then to hide things. “

Continue to move forward on the eve of a year 2021 when Astride will immediately find herself in the deep end. “I continue to improve and work hard because from January 11 there is the Doha Masters where we will have the thirty best under 52 kilos on the planet. It is already a very important meeting to negotiate, where we will have to take points for the ranking for the Tokyo games this summer. Knowing that there will be only one Frenchwoman in less than 52 kg who will go there! After Doha are scheduled the European Championships, at the end of April beginning of May in Lisbon, then the Worlds in June in Budapest. These meetings are crucial for the Olympics. It’s a bit scary program, considering the density. It will be difficult and everything can turn one way or the other. “

To prepare for these deadlines, Astride can rely on a heavy reinforcement, her sister. “We have the chance to play the same sport. It’s not just my sister, it’s a crutch. Even though I have grown up, she is always there to call me to order. I arrived very young in Paris, I was 17, she was there to guide me. “

A solidarity that will undoubtedly help him prepare for his major meeting. “I eat, I sleep, I train for the gold medal in 2024 in Paris. It’s my aim ! “

These are the things just said. The appointment is made.

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