Young judoka Laura Rasoanaivo, African champion in the under 70 kilos category, lost to British Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown in her first fight in Paris on Wednesday July 31, 2024. A few hours later, former judoka Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, head of the Malagasy Olympic committee, pointed out the poor conditions for preparing athletes on the island.
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With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Pauline Le Troquier
Four minutes, a first Olympic fight and the fate of Laura Rasoanaivo is quickly sealed by a first point (Waza-ari) from her British opponent. At 20 years old, the judoka crystallized the hope of seeing an athlete from the country go far in the competition.
For the youngest member of the Malagasy delegation, the pressure was probably too great, believes the president of the Malagasy judo federation, Éric Saïd. He underlines the lack of thought given to the mental preparation of athletes: “ When I see the other delegations accompanied by their psychologists, accompanied by their physiotherapists, it’s a whole team [mobilisée]. We, at Madagascarthere is no mental preparation at all, it does not exist. The athletes are alone with their coach. That alone is very penalizing, the athletes are not confident at all. »
Lack of infrastructure, rare opportunities to measure themselves against their opponents abroad… Once on the Olympic grounds, it is difficult for the Malagasy athletes, accustomed to precarious training conditions, to compete.
” It is a utopia to hope for a medal from these young people »
Nzaka Tsirofo Rasoloarison, a sports sociologist, takes the example of swimmer Jonathan Raharvel, who was also eliminated from the Olympic adventure. Jonathan did not prepare in an Olympic swimming pool, but he prepared in a pool that is 20 meters long. Malagasy athletes are not prepared for world-class competitions like that. It’s as simple as that. It’s a utopia, in fact, to hope for a medal from these young people. »
In 13 participations in the Summer Olympic Games, Madagascar has never won a single medal. To go beyond the simple participation of the country, often represented by a modest delegation, sports professionals are demanding a status dedicated to better protecting and preparing high-level athletes. Of the seven athletes in the delegation, three of them have already been eliminated.
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