The queen of moguls.
Season after season, Perrine Laffont continues to expand her record, which is already particularly impressive for a young woman of only 22 years old.
But which very quickly took off at the highest level, she whose adolescent face is remembered in Sochi in 2014, when she took part, at only 15 years old, in her first Olympic final.
That she finished in 14th place already heralding great promises for the future.
Since then, she has never disappointed, winning her Holy Grail in 2018 in Pyeongchang with the Olympic mogul title.
And a little less than a month ago, the Ariégeoise got hold of her fourth crystal globe, rewarding her stranglehold on the general classification of the Mogul World Cup.
A crystal globe paradoxically formalized
A coronation formalized in a paradoxical way, on its worst result of the winter - a 5th place in parallel in Deer Valley -, as she analyzed it for Le Figaro: “It was a difficult race.
Already, the parallel is not my discipline of predilection, which takes much more pressure from me.
Then, in the quarter-finals, I find myself facing the American Tess Johnson who eliminated me a year ago on the same track.
Mentally, I thought about it and it probably didn't help.
Add to that some not very good workouts in the morning and I got into the race without really feeling confident.
Finally, just before taking off, I learned that I was guaranteed to win the Crystal Globe due to the downfall of my Japanese rival.
Result, during the race, I made a mistake because seeing the American in front of me, I wanted to accelerate and I missed my bottom jump.
The worst part is that when I saw the race again, I found that in fact, it had done a bit of rubbish at the beginning and if I had focused on myself, I would not have made my mistakes. and I would have probably won.
It's a good lesson for next time. ”
World Championships that will have traveled
Like what, even with a track record that is starting to be as long as an arm, it is always possible, and even recommended, to learn from a defeat.
Her only one of the winter since she had won the other four contested events.
What to dream of in the perfect season?
“Of course, this year it seemed easier to achieve due to the low number of events,” she says.
But I had never made it a real goal.
The objective of my season remains the world championships. ”
The latter who will have known many adventures before even starting.
Initially planned in China, then in Canada, they will finally take place in… Almaty, Kazakhstan, this week.
What disturb a Perrine Laffont in search of gold on the bumps, she who remains on silver in 2017 and bronze in 2019?
“I've been starting to get used to these constant schedule changes for almost a year now.
I admit that it would have been good to have these World Championships in China to discover the track of the Games.
But hey, we have to do with this change of host country and as long as the World Championships are taking place, personally, that is the most important. "
“I have the impression that winter is passing incredibly slowly. It's as if after each competition that I did, I was cut off in my tracks. "
Perrine Laffont
Worlds that she therefore impatiently awaits to fill the last hole in her record, at the end of a season that she herself qualifies as "bizarre."
Usually, I'm head in the handlebars and the three and a half months of competition go by super quickly.
While there, I have the impression that winter is passing incredibly slowly.
It's as if after each competition that I did, I was cut off in my tracks.
After Ruka (Finland) and Idre Fjall (Sweden) who chained each other in a week, I felt great, I wanted to do it except that I was then told: "No, you are coming back in two months now."
At each competition, I had the feeling that I was hungry for more. "
Not to mention the restrictive health context which weighs on him more and more: “I must admit that I can't wait for this very special season to end.
I have now been in a sort of bubble for four months, to use an alas fashionable term.
It is starting to be a bit long.
I go out of my house as little as possible, just to run errands.
I avoid people a bit, I disinfect my hands 30 times a day, in airports I make sure not to touch anything… I want to be able to release this pressure and this fear of catching the virus while I am in competition.
And I haven't seen my brother since September, which is very hard for me, who am very family. ”
"How do you want the student to react who does not leave his small studio, who can no longer do odd jobs, who no longer has a social life if he finds that he is doing it for nothing?"
Perrine Laffont
Nevertheless, by virtue of her status as a high-level athlete, the student Perrine Laffont is well aware of being a privileged one compared to many other students who suffer from isolation and / or financially.
“The context is very particular.
During the lockdown last spring, I was also taking my courses remotely and frankly, I sympathize with those who have been through this for months and months.
There are plenty of times when I was on the verge of falling asleep in front of the videoconference class because it's super hard to stay focused all day like that. ”
Before pushing his reflection further: “This situation inevitably raises questions.
Youth, by definition, symbolizes the future.
We are the next graduates, the next doctors, the next presidents too… It hurts my heart to see that, in a way, we sacrifice part of this youth for the benefit of the elderly who, as it happens to me to note it, do not respect the barrier gestures, nor the safety distances.
All the measures taken today are nevertheless mainly for them, and for them to have a meaning, it would be good if those first concerned apply them.
How do you expect the student to react afterwards who does not leave his little studio, who can no longer do odd jobs, who no longer have a social life if he finds that he is doing it for nothing? "
A committed opinion, like this sportswoman who does not hesitate to take strong positions, especially in terms of ecology.
A sportswoman who also has her eyes set on 2022 and the future Beijing Games, where she dreams of retaining her title.
“It made me feel weird when we were in Deer Valley and I was told we were one year away from the next Games,” she says.
I said to myself: already?
I have the feeling that Pyeonchang ended the day before yesterday. ”
The holding of the Olympic high mass about which she says she is confident: “Tokyo will give us a trend this summer.
But I am very optimistic.
It suffices to look at the situation today: football or rugby matches take place, all sports manage to organize competitions, even if there are hiccups sometimes ... And I dare to hope that within a year , the situation will have improved further.
So if it's doable now, why wouldn't it be a year from now?
Not to mention the enormous economic consequences of a cancellation or postponement. ”
But while waiting to aim for Olympic gold again, Perrine Laffont will try Monday and Tuesday to conquer two world titles, in moguls and in parallel.
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