At the beginning of September, Estelle Mossely made an appointment with us in the west of Paris where she currently lives.
Before her big return to competition at Paris La Défense Arena (where she fights this Friday), she shared with us her day as a champion mother, who begins at the bilingual French-English school, where she drops off Ali, 3 years old, little Magomed's brother.
The Rio gold medalist, 28, then gave herself up unvarnished, talking about life with her husband, Tony Yoka (star of the September 25 meeting), her discovery of Congo, her father's country, and especially the infinite love for her two little boys.
Back four months after giving birth
“It was a challenge to come back four months after my delivery.
It was a choice to fight the same day as Tony, it will be a first.
The date of his fight was set for September 25, we said to
ourselves
:
Come on, let's go together!
It was a way to motivate myself even more, I couldn't back down.
It also allowed me to have less to manage.
I manage family life, Tony the rest, including the organization of training and reunion.
When the question of the resumption arose, I limited the time to the maximum by speeding up the preparation.
The hardest part, with the weight loss, was the fatigue linked to the lack of sleep, Magomed has only been sleeping for a little over a month.
The automatisms nevertheless quickly returned.
Sometimes I say to myself:
But why are you continuing
?
Probably because I like a challenge too much and I didn't want to have any regrets.
I am happy to live this recovery with my sons.
Boxing is already part of Ali's life.
Small, as soon as he saw a post, he boxed on it
(laughs)
.
He attended dad's fights, mum's.
It's very funny: when he encourages me, it's not:
Come on mom!
But:
Come on Estelle!
I have found the perfect balance between my personal life and my sports career.
I will stop when my family, when my children ask me for more time.
"
"When the question of the takeover arose, I kept the deadlines as low as possible by speeding up the preparation", says Estelle Mossely./LP/Guillaume Georges
Never without his sons
“My days are now very busy, with the first bottle of Magomed at 7:30 am, then Ali's breakfast, school and training, generally at 10:30 am.
All the month of August, my baby was looked after by a student who went back to school, so we had to find another organization
(Editor's note: she pauses)
.
With training, it's a big rhythm.
When I'm too knocked out, Tony takes over but he's also in full preparation and we have a different way of managing.
The last few weeks before a fight, he needs to be cut off from the world.
Actually, I should have dropped Magomed off at Tony's mom's so I could rest, focus on the fight, but I only managed to do that ten days ago
(laughs)
.
Leaving them three weeks, Ali and him, it was impossible, it hurt my heart.
I need to be surrounded by my relatives.
"
4 months and 1 week ago I gave birth to my baby!
In 1 week, I'll be back in the ring.
[...] Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's hard.
But at least I can't regret anything.
https://t.co/J7m4SXLFNd
Meeting on September 25 at @ParisLaDefArena and live on @canalplus pic.twitter.com/oxDXaA5jdw
- Estelle Yoka Mossely (@EstelleMossely) September 18, 2020
With Tony Yoka, love found
“At the Rio Games, with Tony, we were the golden couple.
It was the couple, the couple, the couple.
Have I been a prisoner of this image?
Yes and no.
At first, it didn't bother us, we really liked winning together and it reassured us to do things together.
At one point, we had to explain to people that we were two full-fledged athletes, especially as our careers were to be separated.
It was easier for Tony who turned pro.
I was pregnant with Ali, some people began to doubt my return.
The post-Games were complicated, the life change was total, including a departure for the United States.
We got a little lost, we didn't necessarily agree on everything.
We're a classic couple with ups and downs.
But, when it farts, it can be heard!
In fact, we share our life a little with the people who follow us and, sometimes, we just can't control everything.
When I announced our separation on social media, I was broke.
I wanted to throw everything away.
Tony understood
(laughs)
.
I wanted to think about myself, I entered my bubble.
Things evolved little by little, we progressed and it allowed us to meet again.
At the time of confinement, Tony returned from the United States to be with us, we had extraordinary moments with the family.
I was just afraid of having to give birth at home.
"
An initiatory journey to Congo
“The year 2019 was also marked by my trip to Congo where my father's family lives, the trip of my life. My father hadn't set foot there for thirty years. He always said that if he ever went back it would be with his whole family, but we didn't have the financial means. Last October, I said to myself:
I'm going
. I took my parents, my brother and Ali on board. For the first time, I saw my paternal grandmother. I didn't know anything about her, I had never even heard her voice, yet she knew that I was boxing. Through my association, LPERF, I distributed equipment to young boxers, some of whom play barefoot sports. I was certainly the champion, but above all the woman, pregnant at the time, came to meet them with her little boy. It's strange, but I had the feeling that they changed their lives. They changed mine. I discovered a part of myself that I did not know, this trip soothed me, allowed me to refocus on the essential things of life. "
