He is still out of breath when the interview begins. Barely out of his afternoon training, Marc-Antoine Olivier, 26, takes the time to indulge. While the open water events start late, Saturday August 20, the Frenchman prefers to be positive. In Ostia, the founder is at home for these European swimming championships which are held in Italy until August 21.
It is in this city of the Roman suburbs, by the sea, that the Frenchman put down his suitcases ten months ago now with his companion Océane Cassignol. Sixth in the Tokyo Olympics in the 10 km, the native of Denain takes a slap, he who was in the firmament before the Covid-19 reshuffled the cards. “At 90%, I was sure of making a podium, I had had an excellent season. And to finish 6th, it was very complicated. We certainly made small mistakes in the preparation.“A change of scenery is then necessary after having spent six years under the orders of Philippe Lucas.
The swimmer initially joined Frédéric Vergnoux in the Canary Islands in September, without succeeding in flourishing there. During a World Cup stage in Barcelona, contact was established with one of the best coaches on the planet, Fabrizio Antonelli. It’s love at first sight. The Frenchman packs his bags during the week and leaves for Italy. Gregorio Paltrinieri (current world champion in the 10 km and triple European champion in the 5 km, 10 km and mixed relay), Domenico Acerenza (current vice-world champion in the 10 km), all the world free water cream works under the orders of the roman technician. “Our whole group is qualified for the European Championships. And it’s essential to have a big team around me to raise my level every year“, explains Oliver.
Habits change, the daily life of the French too. “It’s a different world than here, in France. There are specialized structures for swimming. Ostia is a mini-Insep [Institut national du sport, de l’expertise et de la performance] but focused on water sports“, explains Marc-Antoine Olivier who also takes advantage of the sea to carry out two sessions a week in real conditions, seven months out of twelve. A luxury.
“Philip [Lucas] did the training, the physical preparation and everything around it, it was up to us. In Ostia, I have everything at my disposal. This year, I had a dental infection. If I had had that in France, it would have taken me two or even three days to have the operation, and only if I knew the dentist. Here it was settled in a few hours.”
Marc Antoine Olivierat franceinfo: sport
However, all is not rosy. Sponsors dropped him after the Tokyo Olympics, the tricolor swimmer does not speak English either, let alone Italian. Last December, morale was at its lowest. “I still asked myself a lot of questions, I had a depression and I didn’t know if I wanted to continue my career.“, recognizes, in a breath, the double open water world champion in 2017 (5 km and mixed relay).
After years of working on mileage with Philippe Lucas, the Frenchman needs a breather. A compromise is found with Antonelli. Olivier will swim less to perform better. “We do a lot more physical preparation out of the water. I do a lot of sports too. We can play basketball, beach volleyball, padel, sports that I didn’t do before. VShas allowed me to be more physically complete. I feel better in the water“, details the Northerner.
More powerful in the water, by his own admission, the Frenchman can thus extend his tactical palette in the race. “I can favor the sprint and as I still have the box that I worked with Philippe [Lucas]I can always leave before the finish solo, so I have more cards in hand to seek victory.“
If he did not complete a full season due to his late recovery and his dental infection, the man with eight international medals was able to successfully test himself at the Budapest Worlds two months ago. A fourth place in the 10 km, won by Gregorio Paltrinieri, who is worth his weight in gold after all the hardships he has been through.
On the road to the Paris Olympics in 2024, his main objective is in his new home, in Ostia, that he has the opportunity to resume the course of his ascent. With lofty goals? “There are beautiful things to do, then you have to move forward step by step“Explains, almost shyly, Marc-Antoine Olivier. But when we relaunch him on his ambitions, the response fuses.The medal, I want it. And even victory. I dive for it.“