Sarah-Léonie Cysique, silver medalist (-57 kg) in Tokyo in 2021, gave the Olympic team title point to France against Japan. While visiting the Temple-sur-Lot Base with the rest of the French team (from April 3 to 11), she talks about her dreams of gold at the Paris Olympics.
You are currently on an internship in Lot-et-Garonne, at Temple-sur-Lot. Where are you in your preparation for Paris 2024?
I still have several competitions coming up which will be the last before the Olympic Games. I try to make sure I’m at my best and not run out of steam too much to be good. Because an Olympics is long.
We place you on the list of medal chances for these Olympics. Is this additional pressure?
It’s good pressure. They are not going to take away my medals from Tokyo. So, this is just more to add to my list. I want to show that I can do beautiful judo. I want to have a great day and be satisfied at the end. For me, it’s a gold medal and nothing else.
In 2021, you give the Olympic title point to the France team against Japan. Tell us about this fight that has entered the history of French sport?
At the time, I told myself that I was fighting the fight that could help the French team win. But that didn’t put any extra pressure on me. I am told repeatedly: “do your job”. I was sure of my strength. It was really intense. During the randori, when I score, I first think there is an “ippon”, but ultimately the referee only gives a “yuko”. Physically, it was hard. I wanted the fight to end quickly. Especially against this Japanese woman, a strong left-hander with whom we do a lot of kumi-kata. So you had to be physically present. At the end, when the countdown came, I saw that she was starting to panic. I told myself that it was a plus for me because she could make mistakes. At the end, I hear the girls screaming, I hear the crowd screaming because there were a lot of French people in the stands. It was crazy. There, all the pressure has gone down. I started crying for hours afterwards. It was truly incredible in terms of emotions and sensations.
When did you realize the magnitude of your performance?
At the time, we don’t realize that we have made history. We just said to ourselves: we are Olympic champions. It was afterwards that we realized the magnitude of the performance. Beating the Japanese, in Japan, in the final of the Olympic Games, is crazy actually. For my part, I only realized afterwards.
2024-04-09 17:50:18
#INTERVIEW #gold #medal #SarahLéonie #Cysique #internship #LotetGaronne #hide #ambitions #Paris
