New deal
- Details
- Friday, 07 November 2014 02:37
Dear friends,
Dear everyone,
As some of you may know, I have decided to row for Canada for the current season and to compete for a spot on the Team for the 2016 Olympic Games. I hold dual nationality with France and Canada and I am eligible under international rules to row for Canada at World Cups this season. The plan is to row in single scull in Aiguebelette, France (World Cup 2), at the Holland Beker, in Luzern, Switzerland (World Cup 3) and, if I am selected, to row World Championships in Amsterdam.
I will then move to Victoria, BC in mid September to join the Team and train at the training centre (VTC).
I decided to move to Canada for the reasons below.
The 1st and main one is the opportunity. It is a great chance to be able to row and compete for both my countries. I had a great career with France and I brought back home, with my crewmates, medals from the Games, World championships, World Cups and Europeans Championships. But I have always had this thought of crossing the Atlantic (not only on a rowing boat) to row for the Maple Leaf. And today is the right moment according to the FISA rules. It is also a great life experience that we are going to live with my fiancée. Leaving everything behind and starting a new life on the other side of the world, that's the dream !
The 2nd reason is that I couldn't find my place and my happiness in the french team. After a year off, it is already hard to go back on the water twice a day, to lift tons of weights to get back to your previous fitness level. But I had to fight off the water to get a spot in a group that didn't really want to row with me despite my « not-questionable » performance. Old problems from years ago appeared and I was kicked out of the 8 because those problems of « character compatibility » were focused on me. After 11 years of high level, I think I didn't have the patience and the will to fight against things that I can't really measure or touch. I thought that sport and performance could have made us row together.
I have always moved forward in my life trusting my instinct and with one goal : no regret. Today, I need to live my sport in a different way. I need a real project, a « New Deal » as F.D.Roosevelt said. I believe that putting myself out of my confort zone and changing the way I have seen my sport for so many years is going to be the key to a higher standard of performance. In business we are used to saying that « Risk = Gain ». It is going to be hard but if it works I think that I will get better.
I just want to thank all the people who helped me through all those years. A new page is about to be written and you are part of it.
Even accross the Atlantic, « adventure goes on ».
Thank you all
Julien
