Hobbies
Playing football and racket sports, building computers. (equipedefrance.com, 01 Aug 2021)
Occupation
Armed Forces Athlete
Education
Computer Engineering - Leonardo da Vinci Engineering School [ESILV]: Paris, FRA
Family
Partner Lea Labrousse
Spoken languages
English, French
Club
Association Saint Denis Trampoline 93: Paris, FRA
Coach
Sebastien Martiny [national]
Sporting relatives
His brother Brian has competed in trampoline gymnastics at national level. His partner Lea Labrousse represented France in trampolining at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 31 Oct 2023; spotgym.fr, 24 Nov 2022; ville-stains.fr, 12 Nov 2015)
Injuries
He was troubled by a back injury ahead of the 2019 French Championships in Albertville. (ffgym.fr, 01 Jun 2019; trampolinefamily.net, 27 Apr 2019)
Start sporting career
He took up trampoline gymnastics in 2003 at La Dionysienne St Denis sports club in Paris, France.
Reason for taking up the sport
He had practised swimming before discovering trampolining. "I started by chance without knowing it was an Olympic sport. I was doing swimming but I didn't enjoy it so much. I was at the Sports Hall in Saint-Denis with my mother, who wanted me to try gymnastics but the club was for girls only. By chance, the same day, the trampoline team was training so I told my mother that was what I wanted to do."
Ambitions
To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (air.defense.gouv.fr, 17 Jun 2022)
Trainings
He trains for 25 hours per week at the National Institute for Sport, Expertise and Performance [INSEP] in Paris, France.
Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning individual gold at the 2022 European Championships in Rimini, Italy. (lemag.seinesaintdenis.fr, 07 Jun 2022)
Hero / Idol
French trampoline gymnast Gregoire Pennes. (lemag.seinesaintdenis.fr, 07 Jun 2022)
Philosophy / Motto
"When I do something, I like to win." (lejsd.com, 02 Apr 2019)
Additional information
TOKYO DISAPPOINTMENT
He finished ranked last out of 16 competitors in the men's individual event at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, having made errors during both his routines. "I cannot hide my disappointment. I made a little error on the first routine that cost me dearly. On the trampoline, bouncing a few millimetres off target can result in several metres of error in the air. There is no room for error. [The 2020 Olympics] are a failure for French trampoline, but we know that this experience will help us grow in the future. The Paris [2024 Olympic] Games are coming, and we must look to the future." (lemag.seinesaintdenis.fr, 07 Jun 2022; eurosport.fr, 31 Jul 2021)
MENTAL PREPARATION
To improve his timing and mental approach to the trampoline he has worked alongside researcher and former gymnast Claire Calmels. "This is something that has been neglected in France whereas it is crucial in the preparation of an athlete. We train without a trampoline. She teaches me to structure what I visualise, manage my timing. [The visualisation exercises] help to represent the movements that I need to do and to feel them at the same time. I can actually experience all those feelings only by imagining what I have to execute. Calmels helps me to ask the right questions and directs my work through the visualisation. As she doesn't know trampoline she can point out aspects that otherwise I wouldn't be able to notice. That helps me to improve technically." (crosif.fr, 01 Apr 2020; lejsd.com, 29 Sep 2015)
ARMED FORCES
In 2021 he joined the 'Armee de Champions' [Army of Champions], the programme of the French armed forces for high performance athletes. He represents the Air and Space Force [AAE]. "It's an honour to represent my country among the armed forces. I believe that as a high performance athlete, I share the same values as the military." (air.defense.gouv.fr, 17 Jun 2022; ffgym.fr, 16 Dec 2021)
Last update : 2024-07-22