French Larbi Benboudaoud became High Performance Director

Judo in France is one of the biggest sports and we are used to having a lot of partners during training sessions. The first team had the professional status, so in the beginning they were happy, because they could go back to training, but quickly the problem was that all competitions were suspended and no training camps were allowed abroad and that was complicated to manage.

They were excited to start, but to start training and keep the intensity without a goal is really difficult for motivation.

So, as I said, the French staff tried to change the format, routine and training model we used to apply before the pandemic. We tried to do different things, to keep the motivation. We went to places outside of Paris where, varying the environments, not just staying at the training centre (INSEP).

For me as a coach and for my athletes also, the most difficult thing to accept was the postponement of the Olympic Games, because we had a French National team that was really performing; they were ready and motivated. Three months prior to the big event, feeling they were just meters away from their dream, we had to tell them that it won’t be now and that we didn’t even know when. When you are a competitor, you train very, very hard, because you know you have a goal. If you don't know when your goal is and what your goal is it's very complicated.

When the IJF restarted the competitions and we could come back, they were ready; they had a lot of will, they were motivated, with light in their eyes and they were hungry. I can use this expression: they were like lions in a cage and when you open the door, they go to eat. Today we gave them food to eat, but there is still the question about the Olympic Games. The big objective is the Olympic Games, they expect that.

Now I have to say that it is much more complicated for our young people in France. We can not take them out to competitions, because of the regulations at home, where they authorise us to go only with the number ones. When we were finally able to take them to the Junior European Championships and the European u23 Championships, which they had wanted so much, they were performing immediately. Once again we had the feeling that the cage opened and they jumped out right away.

It's not just the athletes, but also the management and the staff. It’s the same feeling, because we let go of things that we would not have usually let go. For example, with Clarisse Agbegnenou, in order to keep her fit, we allowed her to do other activities from her usual routine, to break the normal schedule. What is complicated is that we must provide a solution for each individual, but we must keep the team strong together.

We also brought in other coaches, so that athletes could have different experiences from which they could choose what fits for them. For us, the coaches, it was very hard to plan and to programme things.”