Simon Martin-Brisac: “That’s all for the Games, that’s all I can think about”

The day after the test event weekend, played at the Yves-du-Manoir stadium in Colombes, the French men’s field hockey team closed a chapter of six friendly matches in three weeks, behind closed doors, in the The venue which will host the Games from July 27 to August 9. After Belgium (defeats 5-2 and 3-2), Spain (3-3 and 4-4), Germany won (5-2 and 3-0) against the Blues diminished by the absences of eight of their best players retained by the semi-finals of the Belgian Championship where a good half of the squad plays.

Simon Martin-Brisac played in all these meetings since he is one of the executives of the team which, despite external requests, has always remained faithful to its heart and original colors, the sky and white of the Racing Club de France .

At 31, the native of Boulogne-Billancourt will turn the page the day after the Games for which he sacrificed everything with the ambition of being part of the selection, he who had seen qualification for the Tokyo Games slip under his nose in 2019 in Valencia against Spain. A huge disappointment after being the victim of a serious scooter accident at the end of 2017, which left him sidelined for eighteen months, his left knee damaged by a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament and a rupture of the external lateral ligament.

D-81 before the first match of the Games against Germany (July 27, 5 p.m.), “Lazime” recounts his daily life as an athlete with amateur status focused on one and only goal: winning a medal, 52 years old after the last French Olympic participation, in Munich in 1972.

“What assessment do you draw from this test event against Germany?
Difficult to ignore the context, because there were new players, for some it was their first cap, others had not been with us for a while and others were returning from injury like Gaspard Xavier . Playing with 8 absent is a big frustration because we would have liked to face the Germans in full to see what we were capable of doing.

In these matches, we will therefore not remember the score (2-5 and 0-3), it’s more of a working basis, it will allow us to have video to correct things, to know what is working well or not so well. Whatever the players, the structure will be the same in July, it gives us a more global vision. The result is therefore put aside. We showed that we were capable in terms of energy and physical effort, which was the focus of our work for a year.

In the first match, we achieved our best GPS scores, in terms of kilometers traveled, sprints, accelerations and decelerations. This is a database that will be very useful for replaying them in another context in two and a half months.

Personally, how did you experience these six international matches in three weeks?
There was a rise in power. We feel better, we finished these two matches against Germany strong even if there was a little sluggishness in the third quarter on Saturday. But maybe it’s also mental. At 0-1 at halftime, I think we thought we were capable of competing, of making a play, so we got out of our pattern a little. But otherwise, physically we are very good. I feel able to repeat the efforts, without having to ask to go out.

In more than a year since you adopted the training rhythm of a professional athlete, do you feel that you have never been stronger?
Physically, yes. I feel a real difference, even visually. My girlfriend, who doesn’t like overly muscular guys, tells me she can’t wait for this to end so I can go back to being more or less normal (laughs). In terms of build, musculature and cardio, I have never felt in such good shape. But I want to say fortunately, given everything we do.

What is the hardest part of this preparation?
If we want to catch up with the teams ahead of us, we have to work harder. It’s very intense but you have to watch out for injuries. We play the balancing act, between going all out and paying attention to our body. Does all this translate into hockey terms? Not yet, because we are so in overdrive, that we are still playing under fatigue.

So, we don’t have the canes yet, we lack pep. But it is validated by the physical preparations so that in July, when we relax a little, there are only good sensations. Even though I notice that despite this extremely intense schedule, after a short period of rest, I feel very good because there is no more fatigue. This is a foretaste of what will happen in July when we have reduced the costs.

What traces did the scooter accident you suffered in 2017 leave in your career as an athlete, which caused a serious injury to your left knee?
I think about it every day. High-level sport is about finding your limits. When this is the case, the risk of injury is there, so it’s really a balance to find. It’s obviously more care given to pre-match routines, to get to 100%, more recovery than others, more attention paid to food, hydration, sleep…

Afterwards, on the pitch, I don’t think about it because I’m in it, thoroughly. If I thought about it, it would be a bad sign, it would mean that I am holding back. Mentally, I wouldn’t say that it’s an advantage over others, but when you’ve been through a year and a half of hardship, you tell yourself that you have to pull yourself out of it without taking the time to complain about a little thing. I am aware of how lucky I am to be able to play again in such a setting, with such a team, for such a goal. It’s just so cool. There are two and a half months left to struggle to experience something crazy.

What is the atmosphere like within the team where everyone is playing their part in the Games until the selection is announced at the beginning of July?
There is no animosity, but a lot of competition, at each position. We pay attention to what the other is doing, we look at each other, we also push each other. The staff would tell us to wake up at five in the morning to run 10 km with 20 kg on our back, we would all do it because we want to do everything to be there. We are not going to hide and tell ourselves that we will be happy despite everything if someone else is taken and not us.

Few players are certain of being selected among the 25 in the current group, for 16 selected (plus 3 reserves). There is still a long way to go but I would not say that this fierce competition is unhealthy. There was no clash. It rises little by little and will intensify further. Maybe at some point we’ll shoot each other, but I can’t say because I’ve never experienced that. Even for a European or World Cup, it’s so different.

How does this Olympic ambition occupy your daily life?
It’s 24/24, 7/7. That’s all I think about. I put aside my job. With my girlfriend, we are at an age where we would like to have a child, the same. The post-career, since I’m rather towards the end, too. I will think about it on August 9th the day after the final. One of the possibilities is to embark on a coaching career. It’s on my mind because I coach the young people at my club a little and I really like it. But it’s complicated to think about the future when you have such a goal.

That’s it for the Games. It’s pretty creepy. There must not be the slightest loss of energy. My diet has changed, my pace of life too: sleep, going out with friends, it’s all gone. I pay attention to food but I’m lucky that my girlfriend is a chef so she makes me good things. This point is regularly checked because we have checks on weight, fat mass and the percentage of water in our body.

When I go to see friends or family, we only talk about the Games. On TV, when you go shopping, at the bank, even when you want to try to forget, everything brings you back to that. It’s nice but it shouldn’t become too much ! And above all you tell yourself that if you never do them… but hey, you shouldn’t think about it (laughs) ! »