German coach Jürgen Grobler assured Thursday that he was "
not a guru
" for French rowing, which has just recruited the architect of British success for thirty years to prepare for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
"
I come here really to help, perhaps to give new ideas to better organize themselves
" in the preparation of the French elite for the next Olympic Games, he declared at a press conference in Nogent. -on-Marne, at the headquarters of the French rowing federation.
"
I'm really proud to be here,
" assured the German, eleven Olympic games and a large number of medals on the clock as a coach of British rowing.
In the United Kingdom, the failure of the English delegation to Tokyo - the worst result in half a century for a sport that has received much financial support - had led some to highlight the impact of the departure of the German coach the previous year. , after 28 years at the head of the team.
“
I feel a little sorry
” for their failure, he said, but “
I'm not the guru
” that changes everything, added the successful coach, “
there was a lot of potential and the margin. between victory and defeat is fine.
"
Arrived in October, Grobler began a tour of the elite training centers in France to make a first diagnosis, he who did not want to be a daily coach but "
high performance executive consultant
", according to the official title. of his position within the federation.
He still lives near London.
If he recognizes that the French training program is "
technically good
", he recalled that rowing "
is a sport of power and endurance
".
"
If we can do a little more physical preparation, (the athletes) will be stronger physically and they will go faster,
" added the East German coach, whom France had tried to recruit after the fall of the Berlin Wall. .
But London had passed by then.
To benefit from being the host country, French rowers will, for example, have to know, he says, "
every tree
" on the side of the Olympic stadium in Vaires-sur-Marne, where they can train for the next three years. .
For the Paris Games, the objective set by the national technical director Sébastien Vieilledent is to qualify eight boats to try to obtain four medals, two more than in Tokyo.
