"The public is a natural boost ..." Floretist Astrid Guyart, 37, appreciates all the better since the crowds are often sloppy with fencing, outside the Olympic Games. "We need hormones, adrenaline, dopamine," she says. It is normal for an athlete who performs in a packed stadium to ask for more. I, who am not very demonstrative by nature, I found myself haranguing the public, asking for their support during a final in Marseille, in an extraordinary atmosphere. "
But for lack of supporters most of the time, the fencer learned to count on her own resources. “In my discipline, the athlete is focused on the performance of the moment and the action to put in place to reach the opponent. We try to limit the factors of uncertainty and the public is one of them. Either it grows and that's good. Either he is behind the opponent and we have learned to manage. That's why somewhere, behind closed doors does not affect performance. "
When you are not used to the delirious crowd, you should beware of it when it presents itself. "Before major events, I worked specifically with a sports psychologist, Meriem Salmi, on the pressure of the issue, the management of loved ones ... so as to remain completely focused on the essentials," says Astrid. Faced with a Brazilian at the Rio Games, the public can be embarrassing. Or inhibiting. We will see in Paris in 2024 how the advantage of playing at home will be managed in France. "
"When you are focused you don't really see the audience"
In camera or crowded stadium, Valentin Prades, 27, 4th in the modern pentathlon in Rio, tries to ignore the environment. "I certainly do pentathlon to delight people but first to win," he says. What guides me is becoming an Olympic champion. I don't care if there are people at the competitions. "
But this does not go by itself. “What is disturbing for us is to arrive at the Olympics in front of 15,000 or 20,000 people when we never have so many people, admits Prades. In Rio, it did not hinder my concentration. When you're focused, sticking to your routines, you don't really see the audience. With or without, I consider that as a high level athlete, carrying the colors of France, you have to strip yourself every time. "
Abuse behind closed doors can also seriously affect the health of a discipline. "Getting up on Sunday morning to go play in small baseball towns, in Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert (42) or Clermont without any spectators, it's a bit intoxicating," says Dylan Gleeson, 22, catcher Rouen Huskies and the French team. The matches are long, the concentration goes, everyone makes the face on the bench, it does not run at full speed, we do not make all efforts to hit or go for a ball. However, as soon as we are brought to play in front of the world, up to 10,000 people, in European Cups or at Universiades, the motivation is higher. "