At 39, Camille Lecointre is getting ready to compete in her fourth Olympic Games in the 470, held for Paris 2024 in a mixed format. With Jéréme Mion, the woman who finished 4th in 2012 (with Mathilde Géron), bronze medallist in 2016 and 2021 (with Hélène Defrance then Aloïse Retornaz) is aiming for another podium finish, before turning the page on Olympic sailing.
▶︎ You’re about to complete your fourth Olympiad. What’s your view on Olympic preparation?
I really feel that the Tokyo Games were just yesterday and that it’s been very short. First of all, because there were only three years between Tokyo and Paris, and then my maternity meant that in the end it only lasted two years. When Jérémie and I started up again (in August 2022), we knew that it was going to be a sprint and that we had to be able to perform quickly because we’d soon reach the selection period. It wasn’t easy at first because we had some French competition, but in the end, everything went almost perfectly.
▶︎ You did manage to perform well very quickly, with a bronze medal at the Worlds in October 2022, followed by victory last year at the test event in Marseille, how do you explain that?
First of all, we weren’t starting from scratch, we arrived with our technical baggage and our experience. We went to the same school and had the same coaches, so it was easier to have the same vision for the project. And from a human point of view, I knew who I was going to meet, I knew it was going to go very well, there were no problems to worry about in terms of relationships. That made the preparation pleasant, which is important for projects like this.
“I don’t get carried away”
▶︎ Are you feeling serene going into these Games?
Yes, we feel that the work has been done. Now, before each major event, I like to have that little bit of doubt that keeps me alert and focused. Being too serene isn’t good either.
▶︎ You’re competing in your fourth Games with a fourth different partner, is that down to chance or is it something you wanted to do?
It has more to do with circumstances, with my team-mates’ personal projects taking different paths. That was the case with Mathilde (Geron), who wanted to finish her training, then with Hélène (Defrance) who wanted to move on to something else. Then there was the switch to the mixed format. Now, I find that the fact of recreating a crew each time brings freshness and novelty, and you learn from your new partner each time.
▶︎ When you decided to return for your fourth Games, after Tokyo, was it to do better?
Yes, clearly, I’m missing a little Olympic gold medal, so the idea was to go one better than bronze. For his part, Jérémie was left on a slightly sour note after his Games in Tokyo (11th with Kevin Peponnet), and he wanted to make up for that, so we got together on that goal. Now, I’m so aware that there’s nothing to play for between fourth place and the podium that I’m not getting carried away. I don’t have the impression that there’s one team completely dominating the series, but there are several of us aiming for the podium. And in that respect, our coach, Gildas (Philippe) plays a very important role, keeping us focused on the right things and keeping our feet on the ground despite the importance of the event.
▶︎ After London, Rio and Tokyo, do you feel that what you’re experiencing at the moment is different?
Yes, we’re feeling a lot more support from those close to us, neighbours, family, all the people we meet in the street every day… All these testimonies bring home to us the fact that these Olympics are special. Now, it’s funny, but I don’t feel like it‘s the Games so much, because it’s happening at home and it’s so familiar, I don’t feel caught up in the atmosphere and the grandeur of the Games yet. I wasn’t expecting that, but maybe it will help me to stay more focused on what’s important.
“The Olympic dream
was born in 2004”
▶︎ Many observers say that the French sailing team has never been as strong as it is this year.
When the “bosses” of the Federation say that we have ten potential medal winners, I have that feeling too. Everyone this Olympiad has been capable of reaching the international podium at least once. It’s a long way from saying that we’re all going to do it again, but it’s proof that the potential is there.
▶︎ Can you tell us when the Olympic dream was born for you?
The first images of the Games for me were those of Sydney (2000), which I watched on TV when I was 15. But it wasn’t quite a dream yet. However, four years later, the year Faustine Merret won gold, I had just joined the Brest federal training centre, so I was starting to rub shoulders with the members of the French team, Faustine, but also Nico Le Berre, Gildas Philippe and Félix Pruvot, who were preparing for the Games. That’s when I really started to think that I’d like to take part too, and to get closer to that goal.
▶︎ And when you look back over your career, how do you feel?
There’s bound to be a bit of pride. If I go back twenty years, I never imagined that I’d have such a long career and that I’d be able to make a living from it. And then there was a second phase with my choice to have children (two) during this career, and I’m also very proud to have shown that you can return to the highest level after having children.
▶︎ Will there be fifth Games?
Not really! Today, that’s not the idea at all, I do want to stop here and turn the page, even if I haven’t yet decided what the next step will be, I’m leaving all the doors open.
Photo: Sailing Energy
