"A first training for Paris 2024

What is the state of mind of the French team in the run-up to this home Grand Prix?

After the summer preparation which went well, there is a lot of desire on the part of our athletes. They are all looking forward to this weekend to compete against the thirty-two best of the moment in each Olympic category. It is going to be very interesting to follow the performances of each other, especially since with the guests that we have been able to add to our top ranked athletes, we present ourselves with a complete team of twenty-one athletes with our three para-taekwondoists that we will see in action on Monday. In detail, we go forward with various profiles, between our best athletes able to go for the podium, others further in the ranking and who will inherit copious draws from the beginning. For all of them, it will be a great experience, from which we will have to draw the maximum of information for the Paris Games.

The "fight at home" dimension is indeed a new factor to take into consideration on this Grand Prix...

Since the creation of this circuit in 2014 (in 2013, only a final event was organized in Manchester for the inauguration, editor's note), it is the first time that France hosts a stage, two counting the one to come in 2023. These two events, in addition to the upcoming Olympic test event, should serve as life-size tests to find the best possible configuration for our athletes in two years. We, who are more used to Coubertin, are taking over the Palais des Sports in Levallois-Perret, as we will be taking our first steps in the Grand Palais for the Games. It's up to us to take advantage of this lack of reference points to set the course as well as possible. Learning to manage the pressure of a major competition held at home will be new for everyone, and this Grand Prix is therefore a first training session for Paris 2024. All together, we must succeed in transforming this additional burden into motivation, so that everyone can express themselves by transcending themselves. At the end of the event, we will be able to gauge the impact of the emotional environment, and put in place the conditions most conducive to performance. From a sporting point of view, there is no better configuration to prepare us.

What do you expect in terms of results?

It is complicated to present a numerical objective, and we will focus more on the overall performance, as was the case during the European Championships-Grand Prix in Rome. We are entitled to expect good performances from all those who shone during these two stages, without depriving us of possible nice surprises from the other participants. Breaking the French record in Grand Prix, where we have never managed to win two gold medals in the same edition, is achievable, with all the potential that makes up this fine French team. We now have a performance capacity that we did not have in the last few years, we just need to concretize this on the battlefield. Without forgetting to stay focused on the next step, because this Grand Prix is far from being the end of a season that promises to be very dense once again. The Manchester Grand Prix (October 21-23) will come soon after, as well as the World Championships in Guadalajara (Mexico, November 13-20), the Grand Slam and the final Grand Prix in Wuxi (China, December 6-7 and 12-13).

Interview by Antoine Frandeboeuf / Sen No Sen