Toulouse. Behind the scenes of preparation for the TOEC European Swimming Championships
By Sarah Gilot
Published on
A few laughs, between weight boosts and a few squats.
It’s barely 9 a.m. and training has already started well for the swimmers of the TOEC Dolphins. They are six to have been selected for the European championships which will take place in Rome from August 11 to 21, 2022, with their trainer. Between the newly selected and those who have already had the experience, a good atmosphere and mutual assistance emerge from the conversations. “We are all together for training, and it’s much more fun. We support each other and motivate each other,” confides one of them, Joris Bouchaut.
The selection
Their selection, they learned in July 2022. Among them, four swimmers had already worn the colors of France at several European or world championships: Adele Blanchetiere, Joris Bouchaut, Antoine Herlem and Antoine Viquerat. Leaving for this new adventure is something they suspected, but seeing his name called D-Day “always makes me very happy”, admits Adele Blanchetiere.
The other two swimmers Wissam-Amazigh Yebba and Guillaume Guthwill find them “with satisfaction”, the French team for the first time.
“This selection was a little surprise, because they called me a day after the official announcement to tell me that I was finally taken. And that’s a nice thing, I didn’t want to do a year without accomplishing this goal.
The preparation
Its six swimmers will leave on Sunday July 31, 2022 to pay Vichy (Allier). There, they will join the training center of the French swimming team and all the swimmers selected. They will spend a week there. swimming and strength trainingwhile “taking a rest” before the big departure for Rome on August 7, confides Walter Monbergetheir coach.
In the meantime, they train at the Castex swimming poolin the Nakache complex, In Toulouse. “We swim at 7.15 a.m. every morning for 1.5 hours. Then we follow up with a weight training session, and rest periods,” explains Guillaume Guth. Some are even entitled to physiotherapy and massage sessions.
TOEC swimmers are trained in Toulouse by their two coaches: Nicholas Castel and Walter Monberge. It is the latter who will follow them to Rome, an advantageous situation for the swimmers.
“We are lucky to always have Toulouse training to the end with them in competitions. There, on a six swimmer, a first, which will be good for the swimmers. We are in the best possible conditions. “
Adele Blanchetiere she mentions the advantage that the presence of the coach gives her for her lessons, “having Walter with us is really good, he knows my strokes and will be able to analyze them well and give me feedback on my performances. »
The selection seen by the players
Being called up to the France team is a chance for these athletes. This will lead them to make beautiful encounters. “On a great atmosphere in the France team, I am not apprehensive at all, quite the contrary. In the evening, we have good, friendly times all together”, emphasizes Adele Blanchetiere.
This year they are 31 French swimmers to have been called up for these championships. “There will be the continental gratin of the best French swimmers in Vichy, explains Joris Bouchaut. They will all want to finish among the best, which motivates us too”.
A motivation and objectives that the selected do not lose sight of. What emphasizes Wissam-Amazigh Yebba: “I stayed on what will happen at the European Championships. At Vichy, we’re not going to be there to impress the others, we don’t all experience the surroundings of the competition in the same way, we’ll have to protect ourselves and be present on D-Day”.
Athletes focused and ready for their goal: the European Championships in Rome. Although one thing also manages to occupy their minds: “We think of Paris 2024, we are already training for that. We have work to do, but we will be ready”, promises Wissam-Amazigh Yebba.
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