Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
Escrime Rodez Aveyron : France |
General Interest |
Ambitions |
To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and win an Olympic gold medal. (la1ere.francetvinfo.fr, 24 Aug 2016) |
Sport Specific Information |
Name of coach |
Stephane Marcelin [national], FRA |
Handedness |
Right |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete |
Languages |
French |
General Interest |
Nicknames |
Jo (centrepresseaveyron.fr, 07 Jan 2015) |
Further Personal Information |
Higher education |
Coaching, Sport Studies - National Institute for Sport, Expertise and Performance [INSEP]: Paris, FRA |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
He was inspired to take up the sport after meeting French fencer Ulrich Robeiri. Bonnaire's mother encouraged him because he was active as a child and needed an outlet for his energy. "The club was next to my mum's office so I would go there after school." |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He began fencing at age five at a club in Cayenne, French Guiana. He then joined a sports school in Guadeloupe, before moving to Reims in mainland France, where he joined the national junior training programme. |
General Interest |
Other information |
RETURN TO FRENCH GUIANA After the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo were postponed, he chose to leave his training base at the National Institute for Sport, Expertise and Performance [INSEP] in Paris, France during the nation's second lockdown to spend time with his family in the overseas territory French Guiana. "I decided to take a step back [from training]. I was going to stop after the Olympics and right now I don't have the strength to face the frustration every day. I'm preparing myself in relation to my coach and my physical trainer, but I didn't see myself staying at INSEP and continuing training without any competitions. It allows me to spend time with my family, the people I love. I left home when I was 15. Now my parents are older. It's important to be with them." (centrepresseaveyron.fr, 18 Dec 2020)
COACHING He is a fencing master [maitre d'armes] and has coached at the Paris Levallois club in France. (guyane2014-2016.org, 15 Sep 2016) |
Injuries |
In May 2018 he sustained a right knee injury while competing at the World Cup event in Cali, Colombia, and underwent surgery in July that year, with a second operation required following complications. He returned to competition in late 2019. (Instagram profile, 14 Oct 2019; lequipe.fr, 29 May 2018) |