Sport Specific Information |
| Why this sport? |
"When I was younger I would spend my days in front of the television. My aunt was against this and asked me to find a physical activity to do. The fencing hall was just two minutes from home. In the beginning, fencing was a hobby, but I found there was only one thing I wanted to do - win." |
General Interest |
| Most influential person in career |
Her grandmother. (escrime-ffe.fr, 08 Mar 2013) |
Sport Specific Information |
| Handedness |
Right |
| When and where did you begin this sport? |
She began fencing as a child in Roubaix, France. "I started fencing very early. It was one of the trimester sports that we had at Muselet primary school in Roubaix [France]. At that time, when I arrived at the fencing room, I was only offered sabre. There was no spot left for foil and epee." |
Further Personal Information |
| Languages |
French |
General Interest |
| Nicknames |
Soussou (lavoixdunord.fr, 20 Apr 2013) |
Further Personal Information |
| Residence |
Orléans, FRA |
General Interest |
| Injuries |
In early 2015 she tore a muscle in her thigh. She was unable to compete for two months. (lemondedelescrime.wordpress.com, 25 Feb 2015) |
Further Personal Information |
| Higher education |
Commerce - National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance [INSEP]: Paris, FRA |
General Interest |
| Other information |
REPRESENTING ALGERIA
Born to an Algerian mother and an Ivorian father in Roubaix, France, she was raised in France by her aunt and her grandmother after her mother died when she was age six. She initially represented France, including at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, before deciding to retire from fencing in June 2020. She was later convinced to return to the sport by the Algerian Fencing Federation, and she began representing the nation in October 2021 to honour the memory of her late grandmother who had always wanted her to compete for Algeria. "I lost my mother when I was very young and then I was raised by my aunt and my grandmother. Resuming competition after stopping in 2020, and then joining the Algerian team in September 2021 is my way of paying tribute to my grandmother. She dreamed so much of seeing me defend the colours of my country of origin. [In 2017] I had a lot of trouble coping with my failure at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. I doubted and questioned my sporting career. It pushed me to take a step back and stop fencing for almost a year. Then I was not even in the French team for the 2020 Games in Tokyo due to my break from the sport in 2017. As a result, at the time I felt more comfortable joining Algeria. The prospect of competing at the 2024 Games in Paris did the rest." (LinkedIn profile, 01 Apr 2023; mediterraneennes.com, 09 Feb 2023; fondaskreyol.org, 05 Jul 2022; lapatrienews.dz, 14 Nov 2021; lavoixdunord.fr, 28 Jun 2020) |
| Ambitions |
To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Apr 2023) |
Sport Specific Information |
| Name of coach |
Ouassila Yemi [national] |
Further Personal Information |
| Occupation |
Athlete |
General Interest |
| Hobbies |
Reading. (mediterraneennes.com, 09 Feb 2023) |
