Jean-Aimé Toupane, coach of the French team: (On the absence of Sandrine Gruda from the list for the Olympics) Sandrine is an exceptional player, she has always worn the French team jersey with a lot of commitment. It wasn’t an easy decision for me. We tried to respect the player. I met her, we talked a lot. I chose performance, we tried to build with the best possible chemistry. We had the chance to have a high-level TQO, it influenced our decisions (regarding the list), but not only that. When you start a preparation, you don’t know how you’re going to finish it.
(On the various states of form of the Blues) They had more time to rest. We have a long preparation with a first block linked to regeneration work. We have to bring everyone back to the same level. From what we have been able to put in place over the past year, in terms of medical monitoring, the lights are almost green. There are a few injuries but it’s coming back well. »
Céline Dumerc, general manager of the French team: “Sandrine (Gruda) is irreplaceable. With the blue jersey, she was at 300%, she was exemplary in her work. She was perhaps one of the first French players who openly said that she wanted to be the best player in the world. And it wasn’t a big head. We will not replace Sandrine but we will do things differently. She was a “killer”, she was one of the only ones capable of throwing two or three elbows. It’s a choice. You have to deal with it, weigh the pros and cons, see the big picture, make assumptions. We will see at the end if the choices were good.
(On the youth of the group) If you had asked me the question last year, I would have been skeptical. I’m going to change hats and take on that of sports director of Basket Landes: this year we had a youth team, and we made two finals. I rather advocate experience and old age. Young people have a lot of talent and ambition. Experience is good but it’s not everything. We went to the side of the young players who are very hungry and will give the best of themselves. »
