Gymnastics | American inspiration for Canadians

(Paris) In the mixed zone, Félix Dolci had his eyes fixed on the television screen, where the Americans were receiving their bronze medal. The first for the United States as a men’s team in 16 years. “It’s very inspiring,” said the Quebecer.

The Canadians had just finished the final in 8^e place with 245.426 points, far behind the Japanese (259.594) and the Chinese (259.062), gold and silver medalists. While this is the last place in the final, it is also a historic result for Canada. Never in the history of the country had the men’s gymnastics team done better than a 9^e place.

The three Quebecers on the team – Dolci, William Émard and René Cournoyer – were disappointed not to have done better, of course, but saw this American bronze medal as a source of hope.

“These guys have been trying to get a team medal for years now,” Dolci said. “To see them accomplish this, it shows that with hard work, with repetition, when you really believe in the process, anything can happen.”

“I think what we need to do at the Canadian level is to continue to work, to have a vision that is truly common for the whole team, to push in the same direction,” he continued.

Very close to the goal

The Canadian quintet did not do badly on Monday. They had started the evening superbly with three impeccable performances on vault. A few errors crept in here and there on the other apparatus; Cournoyer notably fell on the pommel horse. In sixth place at one point, the team gradually slid to the bottom of the rankings.

“We were in sixth place and I knew I absolutely had to succeed in the routine so as not to affect the team and for us to stay in that position,” explained Cournoyer. “I probably handled that pressure poorly, and that’s why I underperformed.”

In any case, in the end, the team reached the long-awaited final. In a way, it was mission accomplished, even if they were aiming for sixth place on Monday.

“It’s certain that once you get there, you always want more,” Émard said. “We’re athletes, we always want to progress, to move forward. We’ve already taken a step in the right direction.” […] We showed that it was not a one hit wonder, that we had international caliber. Now, after that, we have little bites to eat. We did not finish the competition as we wanted.

A damaged Dolci

It must be said that the team had a very battered Dolci in its ranks, who must still take part in the final of the all-around competition. The 22-year-old from Laval seemed to be in pain on several occasions. His hands, his back, his knee… So many accumulated injuries had an impact on his performances.

“We made it to a team final, so that’s still good. It still looks good. But in general, what really annoys me is my physical aspect, not being able to give 100%,” he confided. “I’ve been dragging my feet for several months now, I’ve had injuries.”

Every day since the team arrived in Paris, Dolci has received treatments, taken ice baths and swallowed Naproxen, an anti-inflammatory to relieve pain. A challenge of “every hour,” he explained.

“I know I have more in me than what I showed on qualifying day. The truth is that we are here today and I just want to finish it off in style,” he added, his expression downcast.

Increase the difficulties

Dolci and Émard both agreed that they want “more.” To do even better at the next Summer Olympics in 2028, they will have to increase the difficulty of their routines, they agreed.

“The other nations are making so many big difficulties that they can afford to make a few mistakes, but we are slowly getting there,” noted Émard. “We are missing some.” […] We have to perform optimally to be competitive with other nations like China, Japan, the United States.”

The team has four years ahead of it to come back even stronger and increase its world ranking.

As Emard said: “Why not do it?”