The grimoire was starting to collect dust. Since 1950, the French gymnastics team had each time left the world championships empty-handed. The housekeeping was done last October, when Mélanie De Jesus Dos Santos, Coline Devillard, Marine Boyer, Lorette Charpy and Morgane Osyssek left Antwerp with the bronze medal, just after securing an Olympic quota for the Paris Games .
Almost 21 years old (December 15), Morgane Osyssek returned, in our show “The Crusaders You Know”, to her journey and her departure at the age of 10 from her parents, her dreams of the Olympic Games, her Worlds with GOAT Simone Biles.
Despite the quota obtained during these Worlds, you are not personally guaranteed to have your place for the Paris Olympics…
We have qualified the team, but it is not nominative. I will do everything to qualify, obviously. Selection tests will soon begin for next season. Afterwards, the objective remains to have the best team at the moment, so the selection will be made quite late, and it is the same for all competitions, whether it is the Olympics or the World Cup. We have several reference competitions on which coaches will be able to base themselves. We start with a more or less large group of girls, and it narrows gradually, as the competition approaches. They will look at the results, the physical form, the injuries…
How do you feel about this selection?
It’s a little stressful, but I tell myself to give the best I can. If it works, great, if it doesn’t work, it’s not happening now. You have to think about the best for the team, for qualifying. Of course I will be disappointed if I don’t qualify, but I will give everything I can. We’ll see.
The objective during these Worlds was Olympic qualifying. To do this, we had to finish in the first nine teams in the qualifiers. You finish seventh, and then, during the final, you will seek, somewhat to everyone’s surprise, the podium…
Our goal was to qualify for the Games and for the team final. In the qualifiers, we had a good match, but not a perfect match. We knew we had room for improvement. As we knew we had won this Olympic quota, we approached the final more as a reward than as something stressful. We didn’t go “looking for” the medal, we went looking for the perfect match, with the pleasure of being there and having our Olympic quota.
In any case, it’s stressful to do an international final, but seeing it from another angle, it can be a good idea for the other finals, not to put pressure on yourself because it’s a final, to just do the work you have to do and see the result afterwards. »
This is the first time since 1950 that France has won a medal. Have you realized that you have made a mark on the history of your sport?
We were all extremely proud of ourselves, all very happy. It was an incredible moment, very, very rich in emotions. Even the week that followed, we were all on cloud nine. Obviously, having had this world medal, it makes you want to go and look for others, to always have more and to continue.
What was it like to compete alongside Simone Biles?
It’s a good experience. These are gyms that I see on TV or video more than in real life. Just being in the warm-up room and chatting with her, because Mélanie [de Jesus dos Santos] went to the United States, she knows her, it was just incredible. I had barely started the competition when I had stars in my eyes.
For a long time, the gym, for you, was fun, and not high level…
I started gymnastics at 2 years old, in baby gym. I was very active, and I needed a sport to exercise myself. I lived in Haguenau [Bas-Rhin], not far from the gym, so my parents put me there. Little by little, I continued, in leisure, in sports studies. When I left for pole, at 10 years old, I left far from my family, I was always with the aim of having fun, I didn’t think about the responsibilities, I didn’t look at the high level, I was truly innocent. There are some, already at 10 years old, who look at the high level, realize what needs to be done. Parents also play a role in this. Mine always supported me during competitions, but never pushed me to do that. If it didn’t work, it didn’t work. For me, the gym was fun.
As a result, you arrived late at the high level…
I was pretty strong in my junior years, and, it’s true, after I had injuries that kept me out of the gyms for a year, I changed structure by coming to Insep. I had a decent level, but I wasn’t in the big selections. The senior Europeans, I did them for the first time two years ago. In gym, at the high level, where we become seniors at 14, doing my first Europe at 18 was late. The coaches didn’t hesitate about my age, it was mainly about my lack of experience, telling me if I was going to take on the pressure of Europe, World when I didn’t have many big competitions behind me . At first, it’s not the easiest. I didn’t put any more pressure on myself than that, but when I arrived on set on the D-day of the competition, there was a bit of panic on board.
What was your experience of leaving home at the age of 10?
It was harder for my parents than for me. I was happy, I left with other girls of my age and from my region, and it was more difficult for some girls than for me. I got on the train, said hi and see you soon. Other girls remained on the platform, almost crying.
Do you feel like you sacrificed part of your youth?
As my senior career started late, I asked myself the question: wouldn’t I prepare for a normal life rather than trying to catch a team and never being in it? In college, I was in a “normal” class, with non-athletes, you wonder if you wouldn’t be better off going to class with them, going out to the movies rather than hitting me every day at the gym . But I still had this hope of doing something in the gym, and the fear of regretting having stopped too soon. In the end, I did well, I don’t regret anything.
You’ve been doing it since you were very young. Do you sometimes feel the need to cut back, particularly to preserve yourself mentally?
Yes, obviously, there is a need to take a break, to breathe, to recharge our batteries. After a while, even if the body doesn’t need it, the head asks for it, or vice versa. We have a very strict schedule for this. We have slightly longer weekends, extra vacations, a few days off after big competitions. The planning is very well done in the season for that. I know that I like to go home at least once a month to see my family and take a breather. We have a lot of support (mental, dietary, physiotherapy, etc.) available at Insep, after which it is up to us to choose whether we do it or not. This year, I am being monitored mentally.