This is a meteoric rise, just as rapid as the arrows it shoots. Indeed, for her first year of competition, her second of practicing archery, Justine Gaillard, 11 years old, is already Meuse champion in her U13 category.
A sport that channels
It all started in September 2024 while the little family was walking the always crowded aisles of the Verdun sports association forum. “We were looking for a new sport, something that would help me with my concentration problems,” recalls Justine, who admits that in class, she has difficulty keeping her attention on a subject for very long.
And there she is already hitting the mark since by meeting the members of the club, Les Francs archers du Verdunois, she will discover a discipline whose virtues of attention, calm and confidence are proven. “We really saw the difference in his school results,” confirms his mother.
In addition to discovering a new sport, Justine will join a close-knit club and an outstanding coach in the person of Alexandra Parizel, a former French champion. After a year of discovery, Justine joined the competition team made up of 4 young people aged 11 to 18. A caring, supportive team within which she flourishes.
Full box
On December 14, the Francs archers joined the clubs of Ligny-en-Barrois, Bouligny, Bar-le-Duc, Vigneulles and Void-Vacon in Commercy. This is the third competition for Justine. After two series of 10 ends of 3 arrows, or 60 arrows in total for those who are upset with maths, Justine displays a very good score of 313 points.
So beautiful that she won the title of departmental champion. “I was shocked, I didn’t think it would happen so quickly! », remembers Justine who does not intend to stop there. In fact, she is waiting to validate her pre-registration for the Regional Grand Est in Mulhouse on February 7. Of the thirty registered participants, 8 will be selected.
One thing is certain, after hip-hop and gym, Justine found her way. He takes the “full yellow” direction of his targets.
