With imagination, the Sébastien Flute archery center at INSEP looked (a little) like Invalides this Wednesday afternoon. The iconic place where the archery events will take place from July 25 to August 4. The archers of the French team sharpen their arrows as part of their Olympic preparation. They thus compete in several competitions in conditions similar to the big summer meeting, once they have passed the qualification stage. This Wednesday, March 27, a 10m x 10m shooting platform was set up with passages through the call room. Marc Chavet, the announcer chosen for the archery events next summer, the voice of the World Cup events and the World Championships for around ten years, played the master of ceremonies.
On the program: a mixed doubles (teams of 2 archers – 1 man and 1 woman), a team match (teams of 3 archers) and individual matches for men and women. On display, four archers and four archers. Lisa Barbelin, 23 years old, Amélie Cordeau, 18 years old, Caroline Lopez, 20 years old, Victoria Sebastian, 20 years old. For the men, Baptiste Addis, 17 years old, Nicolas Bernardi, 21 years old, Thomas Chirault 26 years old and Jean-Charles Valladont, 35 years old, the 2016 Olympic vice-champion.
Under the gaze of a hundred people, licensees from the Ile de France regional committee, responsible for ensuring the atmosphere in the stands installed for the occasion, whistles in their mouths and “clap-clap” in their hands . Objective, to put the eight survivors of the selections in a competitive situation as close as possible to what they will have during the Games: “There are 8,900 people missing,” laughs Jean-Charles Valladont (9,000 spectators are expected for the shooting events). the arc). The event will be huge. This preparation allows you to get in condition and create ease, while remaining in your own bubble. But it remains the same sport and the same objective. Shoot at 70 meters at a target 1 m22 in diameter. And your biggest adversary remains yourself.”
In addition to the giant screen, announcing the scores and allowing the novice to find their way around, a mixed zone has been set up, as for the Games where the athletes will be interviewed after leaving the shooting range. And on this rainy Wednesday, they took a little media spotlight. Around twenty media who made the trip to the heart of the Bois de Vincennes. “Even if it’s 1% of the public that will be at the Invalides, it allows young archers who are not used to shooting in arenas to find points of reference to communicate with their coach when there is noise for example, underlines Benoît Binon, DTN. We are coming out of the intensive winter preparation period where we increased to 600 arrows per day shot per athlete from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. It’s a big volume. We are starting to prepare for the competition. Mentally, they shift towards the Games. » “It’s a good step and a great rehearsal to kick off the season,” adds Lisa Barbelin, the headliner of Les Bleues.
The eight archers selected will compete in the World Cup season (three stages), a Grand Prix and the European Championships. At the end of June, the Federation will reveal which of the eight selected will be the two replacements for the men’s and women’s teams. “We don’t rely on a ranking. It is the DTN which will make up the team, continues Benoît Binon. Since last year we have made selections very early in the season. Individual performances will be taken into account, as well as team performances. »