South Korean coach Oh Seon-tek, during a simulated Olympic tournament at the Sébastien-Flute archery center of Insep, March 27, 2024. TERENCE BIKOUMOU FOR “THE WORLD”
If the grass is greener elsewhere, why not… import it? This is, more or less, the reasoning followed by French sports authorities in the run-up to the Olympic Games (Olympics, from July 26 to August 11) and Paralympic Games (from August 28 to September 8) in Paris. “Sometimes, seeking expertise from others, when you don’t have it, is a solution”declared, in April 2022, Claude Onesta, the general manager of high performance at the National Sports Agency (ANS), the public body responsible for high performance.
This is what was decided as part of the “coaches plan”, launched in spring 2022 and aimed at “strengthen the potential and skills of coaches” athletes most likely to shine at the Games. France, host country of the Games, then stated its ambition: to be in the top 5 for medals. A desire, also, to erase the disappointment of Tokyo, in 2021, where she finished in eighth place in the nations ranking with thirty-three podiums, including ten titles.
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Although it is not yet time to take stock of this call for foreign technicians – it will be done after the Games – it is already possible to learn the first lessons. Whether it is technical skills, organizational know-how or, more prosaically, the ability to calm a sometimes tense climate, their contribution is palpable.
Yann Cucherat is convinced of this. “The French sports model was a little out of breath. It was sometimes necessary to inject a little new blood”rewinds the manager of the preparation of the Paris Games at the ANS. “It requires foreign skills, but not only that”insists the former gymnast, who argues that only around ten foreigners are among the more than 200 technicians supported by the coaches plan.
Rebond in « commando mode »
In beach volleyball, one of the first sports to turn towards the outside world, the arrival of the Brazilian Lissandro Carvalho, in 2017, was an opportunity to move away from a “negative Franco-French context”linked to the feuds between Montpellier and Toulouse – the two best clubs in France – explains Axelle Guiguet, national technical director (DTN) at the French Volleyball Federation.
The appointment of Jacco Verhaeren to the position of director of the French swimming teams, in September 2021, also allowed the Tricolores to evolve in a more serene context, after years of turbulence and the debacle in Tokyo, where only Florent Manaudou (in silver over 50 m) avoided the zero point in the pools. Former mentor of the legend Pieter Van den Hoogenband, the 54-year-old Dutchman had already straightened out a drifting Australian selection in 2013.
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2024-05-15 03:00:14
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