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CANDASSAMY Marie-Florence
NOC France   
GenderWomen
Born 26 Feb 1991 in Paris, FRA
Height1.85 m
Human Interest
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team Paris Universite Club: France
Name of coach Herve Faget [national]
Handedness Right
When and where did you begin this sport? She began fencing at age seven.
General Interest
Nicknames Mariflo, MF (NOC Media Guide, 2016)
Further Personal Information
Languages English, French
General Interest
Hobbies Cinema, drawing, music. (marieflorencecandassamy.com, 13 Jan 2020)
Further Personal Information
Occupation Athlete
General Interest
Famous relatives Her father has fenced at international level. (gm-sponsoring.com, 01 Sep 2020)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport? Her father competed in fencing at international level. She initially took up foil but her coach encouraged her to switch to epee. "He understood foil was not for me and very quickly he switched me to epee because I had this reflex of stretching my arm, which is an epee typical movement."
General Interest
Hero / Idol French fencer Laura Flessel-Colovic, and French track athlete Marie-Jose Perec. (marieflorencecandassamy.com, 13 Jan 2020)
Ambitions To win a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (gm-sponsoring.com, 01 Sep 2020; marieflorencecandassamy.com, 13 Jan 2020)
Sport Specific Information
Training Regime She trains at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance [INSEP] in Paris, France.
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto "One of my favorite expressions is, 'You have to give time to time'. As an athlete, I'm very intuitive, but this quality can prove to be a flaw when it is not framed by patience. So, I learned to make time my best ally to achieve my goals. I got to know myself and trust my instincts, which have been sharpened over the years in the arena. I got to know my body and trust my physical abilities, developed through hard work over the years in training. I also observe a lot of what is going on around me - including watching my opponents fence - in order to analyse the situation before me. This allows me to learn more about myself with the sole objective of climbing the ladder, while giving me the freedom to evolve and grow." (marieflorencecandassamy.com, 13 Jan 2020)
Other information HERITAGE
She grew up in Paris in mainland France to a father from Martinique and a mother from Guadeloupe, which are both overseas French territories. "I was especially immersed in the culture of my Afro-Caribbean origins. For me, it's a culture of infinite beauty from culinary to music - including outspokenness. It remains very present in my daily life and is important to me." (gm-sponsoring.com, 01 Sep 2020; marieflorencecandassamy.com, 13 Jan 2020)

OCCUPATION
She has worked as a sports teacher at Paris Universite Club. She also has a French state diploma [Master of Arms] in fencing, which she studied from 2017 to 2018. (allyteams.com, 01 Sep 2020)
Memorable sporting achievement Competing at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (paris.fr, 04 Jul 2022)

Major Results
Year Rank Event Venue
Olympic Games
2016 Final 7-8 Team Epee Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
World Championships
2023 1 Individual Epee Milan, Italy
2023 5 Team Epee Milan, Italy
2022 4 Team Epee Cairo, Egypt
2018 Final 5-6 Team Epee Wuxi, China
European Championships
2023 (Team) 1 Team Epee Kraków, Poland
2023 (Individua 6 Individual Epee Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2022 1 Team Epee Antalya, Turkey
2019 2 Individual Epee Düsseldorf, Germany
2019 4 Team Epee Düsseldorf, Germany
2018 1 Team Epee Novi Sad, Serbia
2015 6 Individual Epee Montreux, Switzerland
2014 2 Individual Epee Strasbourg, France