Margot Chevrier: “My heart remains in Nice”

2023-11-09 11:00:54

Five-time reigning French champion, Margot Chevrier left her home in Nice to join Bordeaux and Damiel Dossevi’s group. She tells us regarding this big leap.

At the time of our interview, you have just returned from the “blue weekend” organized by France Olympique, for training and cohesion meetings between athletes. How did that happen ?

It was really nice ! There were a lot of Olympic medals, and since we are all athletes, we have a lot of things in common. Right off the bat, it’s very easy to create links. Every day, we make the same investment, and we have the same objective. It’s an opportunity to make lots of friends, and that means that when we see each other in the Olympic village, we will already have made connections. It builds confidence!

From now on, you train in Bordeaux, with Damiel Dossevi’s group. How is adaptation going in the southwest?

I started training two weeks ago, and it’s going really well. It’s great to be in a group, I hadn’t really experienced that outside of the French Team training courses. Sometimes, if I’m not in a good mood, but I arrive with my friends, we forget to have fun at training! We all pull each other up, it’s very motivating. I feel like it can bring me a lot, with new methods that I wasn’t used to. Sometimes we try something new, and I suck at it. I tell myself that it’s great, soon I will know how to do something that I didn’t know how to do before! I have everything I need to continue growing.

Is this a change which, on paper, was not planned, especially one year before the Games?

It’s clear that far away, it can seem unexpected and strange, when it’s the season with the Games at the end. But we had to deal with it. My coach might no longer be with me, and I respect his choice. It was already planned that I would go to Bordeaux, but following the Paris Olympics. We had to act in two weeks, to leave earlier than planned. Now, we have a roof over our heads and the majority of the administration behind us! And I am not arriving in unknown lands, I had already discussed a lot with Damiel, MJ (Marie-Julie Bonnin, pole vaulter of the French Team) and the athletes in the group.

Even in Bordeaux, there is always a piece of Nice with you, since the license remains with the club…

Yes, I remain a licensee of Nice Côte d’Azur Athlétisme, it’s important for me. Likewise, although I am on a gap year for my studies, I am still a student at the University of the Côte d’Azur. This is home, where I started and where I was supported, and I want to represent it. With everything that has been done for me in Nice, I consider it normal to give back. I’m changing location, but my heart remains in Nice!

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