the rise of the straps of the Lebrun family, but that was before the Olympic madness

It all started off badly… On the phone, Dominique Lebrun politely gives us the reins, this morning in October 2023, with the firmness of the teacher that she is in normal times, when she is not devoting herself to supervising – on the administrative level – the sporting career of his boys, Alexis and Félix. Devil ! What mistake have we made?

This one: having thought that it would be possible to question during a single trip to Montpellier all those who gravitate around the prodigies of French table tennis: her and her husband Stéphane (ex-7^e French player), their coach, Nathanaël Molin, their physical trainer, Jérémy Surault, the president of their club, Alain Lauferon. This on the sidelines of a French championship match, the day after which we also dreamed of speaking with the two nuggets – why not in the family home of Saint-Gély-du-Fesc (Hérault), as long as we are there was…

“You’re asking too much”the caring mother lectures us in substance and rightly. In his voice, we understand that it is not just a question of an overloaded schedule or a protective bubble at the start of a season which will end with the Olympic Games. Would we have been as demanding with a less publicized sport than ping-pong? Good question. Heartbroken, the meetings will nevertheless follow one another in the bays of a gymnasium with a bubbling atmosphere, auguring the frenzy which will subsequently crystallize around the brothers with glasses.

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