the post-Olympic blues of Yannick Borel

Last July, he was close to reaching the summits of Olympus. Beaten in the final of the epee event by the Japanese Koki Kano 15 to 9, Yannick Borel added to his immense record the only line he was missing: an individual Olympic medal. “You’re welcome, it was a lovely day”he remembers. The Guadeloupean was aiming for gold and had prepared for it, knowing that he was not the most expected of the French shooters that day. “I know I wasn’t the one most bet on, but I knew what I was capable of”.

The 35-year-old swordsman, however, seemed unbeatable during the individual event. “He was very good during this competition [durant les JO de Paris, NDLR]. He was generous and solid until the end. He knew how to find the strength and intelligence to stay on top.”, analyzes his teammate Luidgi Midelton.

The fervor of the Games having subsided, Yannick Borel recharged his batteries and took advantage of his growing notoriety. “Today, people recognize me a little more in the street. Before, I was described as a fencer, today people know my first and last name. They know who I am.”slides the one who won the title of world champion in 2022. Invited to numerous events, we see him almost everywhere: at the Guadeloupe Cycling Tour, at private events or even at the tropical carnival in Paris. “I’m enjoying this medal, I’m sharing it. I’m enjoying moments that I didn’t have time to experience when I was very focused on fencing“.

Despite his moment of glory, the Guadeloupean has not yet returned to the fencing arena, he is taking the time to breathe. “I’m at a point in my life where I put fencing on a secondary levelhe confides. Until December at least, it’s going to be a secondary thing“, he says. But, be careful, the 2024 Olympic vice-champion is not drawing a line under his career.

Under the spotlight in July following his medal and celebrated as a hero during his return to Guadeloupe – many supporters welcomed him on his arrival at the airport – Yannick Borel suffered the repercussions of the Olympics like many athletes who had participated in this event. “Ça wasn’t easy, because when you commit to a project and focus on it for many years, when it passes, you tell yourself that it’s already over. Then I didn’t get the medal I wanted and there was also the frustration of the team event. We will say that there was a form of small depression, he delivers. Casually, for a moment, we are in a bubble and we stay there. There was the medal then the celebration, we are in a world a little apart and when everything stops, it’s often a little abrupt”. Ce “post-Olympic blues“is a “classic phenomenon” explains Meriem Salmi sports psychologist, interviewed on this subject by the newspaper West France in 2021.

The year 2024 for Yannick Borel will have been marked by many twists and turns, between his departure from INSEP against a backdrop of tensions with the former manager of the weapon Hugues Aubry and his injury during the European Championships. Of course, the Guadeloupean swordsman did not collapse after the Games and was not overcome by dark thoughts. “I still managed this episode well and then there was my family who helped me appreciate this medal. In the context, they knew that it was going to be complicated for them too,” relate-t-il.

Whether he has come down from his cloud or not, Yannick Borel already has plenty of professional projects for the future. “I have a few projects coming up, he explains. But at the same time, I still have events related to my medal that I need to honor. So, we’re going to say that we’re between taking advantage of this medal a little and preparing for my professional future.“There will also be some time freed up to work with young people and bring out new Yannick Borels.”I think I will have a little more time and I will be able to get a little closer to young people and contribute in one way or another to their learning, but it is not yet well defined.“.

Make a small fencing cut, I think it’s necessary.

A native of Pointe-à-Pitre, in Guadeloupe, Yannick Borel has one of the finest records in his discipline. Asked whether he will extend the adventure until the Los Angeles Games in 2028, he gives himself time to think. “I’ve looked around a bit, I still have to take the time to come back down, so I tell myself that by December, I’ll see a little more clearly on this. In the meantime, I’m focusing on my kids and doing things I’ve had to do for a long time.” Talented and elegant on the slopes, Yannick Borel, the fencer with the big smile, will leave an unforgettable memory with fans of the discipline.