Frédérique, this will be the 50th edition of the Grand Slam de Paris. We often hear that it is the most beautiful in the world. Is it because we are chauvinistic? Frédérique Jossinet: We say that because it’s reality. I must have experienced fifteen editions of it as an athlete, I won it four times, I knew it at Coubertin before it moved to the Accor Arena in Bercy. It’s truly an extraordinary tournament. I think I’ve taken part in all the biggest tournaments in the world and Paris is special for an athlete, but also for everyone around them. It’s an audience of connoisseurs, chauvinists too. There are certain judokas who have been world champions or Olympic champions and who have never managed to win in Paris. And conversely, some have not been Olympic champions but they remain extremely proud of having won the Grand Slam in Paris. This left their mark, with a magnificent atmosphere, in front of more than 12,000 spectators, and a very special atmosphere. Not to mention the plateau which is always very tough. All of this means that winning in Paris counts a lot in the life of a judoka.
Is it therefore a disappointment that the judo event at the next Games will not take place in this room at the Accor Arena? We are not going to cause unnecessary controversy. The site where the event will take place (the Arena du Champ de Mars) is also magnificent. I was able to discover it during the test event and it will be extraordinary despite everything. Simply, it will be a room with 6,000 seats and when we know that in France, judo is a flagship discipline for winning medals, it is obvious that we could have filled an enclosure with 15,000 seats every day.
Why did you announce 10 of the 14 selected for Paris 2024 so early? We talked about it a lot, debated it… Already, there is the context. These will be the Games in Paris and we know the importance of the athlete’s serenity as such a deadline approaches. We know that the athletes will be in great demand before these Games. The entire preparation will be impacted because these will be the Games in Paris and we said to ourselves that we had to help our representatives to concentrate as much as possible on the sporting aspect. We also thought that there were strategies to put in place. We now know the date of the World Championships, which will take place in May and no longer in June, which will not have the same impact. This must also be taken into account. We said to ourselves that the earlier we were going to select, obviously from the moment we had all the elements to do so, the more we were going to put our athletes in the best possible position. Some may criticize this choice but as the president of the Federation (Stéphane Nomis) said, we are not afraid, we accept this choice and we are convinced that these are the 10 best equipped to shine in Paris.
Is the duel between Madeleine Malonga and Audrey Tcheuméo for the last remaining place in the women’s category heartbreaking for you? How am I going to explain this to you… I have a special status. I am vice-president-elect of the Federation and I am a former Olympic medalist athlete (silver medalist in 2004). I experienced the reality of not being selected for the Games, before experiencing them twice only to end up not being selected and ending my career there. So I have a past which allows me to be empathetic, to be able to put my affect into it but as I said, I am also an elected official, so I try – and I think I do it rather well – not to put my affect into it. Because if I do, all I want to do is select both. As in other categories, but unfortunately this is not possible. I don’t want to talk about the problem of the rich because I don’t like that term, but about the tremendous opportunity to have athletes of this level, not only because of their talent but also their experience. In this Pairs tournament, I wish them to give the best of themselves and if they can find themselves in the final, I will be delighted for them and for all of French judo.
Do you understand that some have criticized the opacity of the selection criteria? I will be very clear with you, as I was with the athletes. I’m going to take a little step back. The CNOSF set up a specific commission for the Olympic selections and it asked each federation what the selection path would be. We worked all summer with my team managers and the selection committee to deliver this path and discuss it. We presented everything to the commission, including the timing with these three phases. We wanted to be as transparent as possible. The commission validated it for us at the beginning of September and the day after this validation, I asked the Federation to send a letter to all the athletes to tell them that I was going to present this selection path to everyone. I wanted everyone to know where they were going, by having as many elements and indicators as possible. At the end of September, this meeting took place in the presence of a certain number of athletes, club representatives and coaches… And then there were some who were not there. It was not a summons, but an invitation. I think I was very transparent because I like it. Today, when people talk to me about opacity, I don’t understand and I don’t like the injustice. I have no problem talking to the athletes who all have my number, and I call them anyway.
Julia Tolofua spoke of a problem of timing and broken promises…What I can tell you is that when I announced the three selection phases, I said clearly (she emphasizes these terms) that after the European Championships, there was going to be the first Olympic selection committee and that after this, there were going to be a certain number of athletes selected. I couldn’t be more specific. I also indicated which competitions would be taken into account in this selection path. For me, there is a lot of transparency. When I was still an athlete, rather at the end of my career I am willing to admit, I understood that I also had to be able to face the truth. Again, all the athletes have my phone number and they could call me. We did it with Blandine Pont who came with her president and her coaches and the discussion lasted two hours, during which we swept everything aside. I am for the exchange. It’s really not easy to select only one athlete per category. At some point, you have to decide and we have a Romane Dicko who was world number 1, world champion, who won two Masters. Selecting it does not mean that Julia is not efficient. No, not at all, she is very strong. But there is only one selected.
What are you going to put in place to manage the disappointment of those who will not be competing in Paris 2024, but who must remain mobilized in a number 2 role just in case? This is a real order that I have placed with staff. I asked them, while they must prepare those selected for the Games to perform well, to take specific account of those disappointed with this first announcement in order to re-mobilize them. Not to lose the link. Not to break something but on the contrary to strengthen it, while supporting those selected as best as possible. After Paris, there will be Los Angeles 2028 which will take shape and we will need everyone to perform.
