Like all medalists at the Tokyo Olympics, a visit to the Olympic Games fan zone at Place du Trocadéro was essential. The rowers, Hugo Boucheron and Matthieu Androdias, are the second, after Althéa Laurin, to have gone there this Friday. Washed up but in the midst of a dream, gold medals around their necks, the new Olympic champions in sculls answered our questions with a smile from ear to ear.
Did you think you would succeed in winning this medal?
HUGO BOUCHERON. Yes. For me there were two ways to achieve this title and one of them turned out to be paying off.
MATTHIEU ANDRODIAS. For my part, I want to say no. I didn’t want to hurt us. We know what we are giving, namely the maximum, but we do not know what we are getting back. Before the competition, we knew that we were expected, but we had decided not to take this favorite bib and to remain a challenger to be on the attack. If you go favorite, you have something to defend, to keep, and it is not at all the same state of mind.
What will the gold medal bring to your discipline?
MA: A spotlight. We want to tell our story, I think it is beautiful. In the end, it was a very rough course, but we made lifelong bonds because of what happened to us. So I want to tell young people to dare to push the door of the little club next to their home. This is how I started and it was a lesson in life.
HB: A little visibility for rowing. I hope that it will give you envy and above all, I hope that our federation, the French Rowing Federation, will have to evolve even more.
What do you think of the performance of your compatriots, Claire Bové and Laura Tarantola silver medalists in lightweight two-pair?
MA: We are very proud. We must keep in mind the exceptional nature of being able to compete at the Olympic Games, which only concern a few elected officials. Going for a medal, in this very high context, it cannot be a disappointment. The victory is not normal, neither the medal, nor even the participation. Nothing is because everything that leads to this situation is totally out of the ordinary.
Do you have a word to say to the French athletes still in contention for a medal?
MA: I send them lots of good vibes and I wish them what we are going through. There may be some who come looking for a double or a performance that they have already achieved. It’s so magical, we can’t get enough of it. We send them all the energy we have left.
HB: I wish them to be the best version of themselves and to do what they do best in training.
