Jenia Grebennikov: "I still don't realize I'm Olympic champion"

Jenia, with not even a month between the end of the Olympics and this Euro, weren't the holidays too long?

(smile) No, they were much too short but we still managed to have two weeks, which allowed us to rest a little bit and see the family.

Physically, we have recovered a little but it is true that this summer is particularly long.

Does this short vacation allow you to realize the reach of your Olympic title in Tokyo?

Not really. I do not yet realize that I am an Olympic champion. I received a lot of messages after our victory via social media but otherwise I spent all my time with family and I didn't see many people. It was only at the Trocadéro, when we got back, that I saw a lot of people and that I was able to realize a little better. It was great, it was a beautiful moment but in the end, I quickly moved on with the holidays.

Isn't it incongruous to have a Euro so close to the Games?

It is terrible. I have the impression that we finished the Games yesterday and that we have to go straight back to it. We are used in volleyball to experience such sequences but it becomes boring all the same. This is our third big competition of the summer, especially after a deadline such as the Olympics, it starts to draw physically and mentally. Weariness sets in. Fortunately, the fact that there is a new staff and a new coach, it gives back energy, desire. And then we all get along really, really well, which also helps. But this does not prevent this schedule from being boring and complicated to live with. The other team sports have time to take advantage of their medals while we,we are already in the preparation of the Euro.

You were talking about the new staff and your new coach, the Brazilian Bernardinho.

What is your first impression after a few days of preparation?

He has a lot of presence, he is very imposing and professional.

He knows what he is talking about because he has already won everything.

Suddenly, everyone is attentive, involved and focused.

The working atmosphere is great.

This should allow us to continue to grow.

There is Paris 2024 which will arrive very quickly.

So there is no time for nostalgia.

Jenia Grebennikov

Do you think he has that little touch of madness that Laurent Tillie was able to share with your group?

It will be to do with time, but I think so. He's Brazilian, so he must know how to dance samba (laughs). From what is said in the community, he is a good guy, good living. Now, if he has to get used to us, we have to get used to him as well. It is a work of reciprocal adaptation to make it work. If it only goes one way, we won't get it. But I sincerely believe that there will be no problem. He knows why he's here and he's smart enough to make it all right.

Is there a risk of still feeling a certain nostalgia for the Tillie period and the Games during this Euro?

No, I do not think so. Since we never stop, we don't have time to sit down and realize. And even less to ask questions or go back to the past. We are Olympic champions, that was one of the great goals of our career, but now the path continues. We won the Games, the Euro and the World League, now we need a world title or at least a medal, which we have never managed to do in this competition. And then behind, there is Paris 2024 which will arrive very quickly. So there is no time for nostalgia.

With regard to these objectives that you evoke, what importance do you attach to this Euro? As Olympic champions, do you feel an obligation to win it?

Not at all. Of course, the other teams will be more keen to beat us, but we must continue to play our game. Apart from the contributions of the new staff, our game will not change too much. We have to be ourselves and continue to work and have fun in the field as we know how to do. I do not see this status of Olympic champions as an additional pressure of result. On the contrary, we saw at the start of the Games that when we put too much pressure on ourselves, it does not give good results as we have seen against the Americans and the Argentines. So in this Euro, we have to play relaxed and focused, as we know how to do. After, the final result, we will see well because opposite, there will be three or four other very strong and vengeful contenders.

The France team spends a lot of energy. In the first round, you will face teams (Slovakia and Germany in particular) that were not in Tokyo. Do you fear a strong deficit of physical freshness?

I think our two week vacation still made us feel good. I have total confidence in our staff to “

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us well

also on a physical level. Now, obviously, there will be cooler teams, coming out of a preparation that lasted three weeks or a month when we only had one week. But our team, to be honest, isn't a fan of cardio work and prep. It will completely suit us to go on, the matches, to play. And then we will be 14 players at the Euro, and not just 12.