“I was sad, depressed, I had to go through these stages of mourning”: Pierre Le Corre looks back on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Four months after the Olympic Games, Montpellier native Pierre Le Corre looks back on the pretty crazy summer he spent in Paris during the triathlon events.

Barely fifteen days of vacation after eight years of preparing for the goal of a lifetime: the Paris Olympic Games. “It was quite short, especially since I had a lot of things to do with sponsors, requests to manage”, says Pierre Le Corre.

And yet, the 34-year-old from Montpellier, 4th at the Olympics in July and 5th at the last world championships in October, has already resumed training. The Olympic page closed, it is time to take on new challenges, in particular by lining up for almost all the distances that triathlon offers (short, long, iron man, half iron man, etc.). But before the start of the season, he looks back on the pretty crazy summer he had, marked by a fall during the mixed relay in Paris.

What memories do you have, in hindsight, of your second Olympic Games (after 2016) ?

On the individual event, I have a very good one. It's so hard to arrive at the Games in good shape, not to be sick, to have all the right conditions, to have your family and friends there. Everything was aligned to do a great race and I did it. Afterwards, I was a little short of making the podium. I was still proud of myself.

Is there a pinch of frustration ?

We always want more, but I also learned to be content with that. Already, it's very good, because the medal, it's true that it makes you dream, but it's not an end in itself.

When Léo Bergère escapes for the bronze, do you regret, in hindsight, not having tried to grab it ?

I imagine it sometimes. But in fact, I start to cramp in my hand and hamstring when he attacks. I could have tried, but I was at the limit. If I had tried to follow him, I could very well have put on the indicator 100 meters further. I preferred to wait and keep my fourth place.

But even if I had not cramped, he might have beaten me. Leo was very strong, he managed his race well. All the best were at their best.

“The race was perfect up until that moment”

Is this individual result spoiled by the collective event (4th), in which you fell on your bike??

Of course. I'm finishing on a bad note. This fall really hurt my morale and the whole team. It wasn't easy. Plus, it was Hayden Wilde's fault. When he falls, I find myself behind.

I replayed the scenario a million times, wondering if I was positioned correctly, if it wasn't a mistake I made, etc. But after the fact, no, I was positioned where I wanted to be.

That is to say ?

The race was perfect up until that moment. But triathlon is still a mechanical sport. In cycling, you take so many risks that people don't realize. They are like criteriums, with very technical urban courses, obstacles, white lines, etc. In each race, there are at least two or three falls. I have rarely fallen. It was on that race.

Have you seen the race again?

Just the fall. Sometimes, you think you have a wrong vision. I still wanted to watch it again, to see if I had made a mistake. But no, it really confirmed the perception I had of the action.

Which one was it ?

Before the race, I had spoken to Léo about it, I had set myself the order to follow Wilde. He is the best technician on a bike. He is the guy who could have escaped. Besides, just before the fall, I countered an attack he had launched. I wanted to position myself behind someone who knows how to ride, who takes measured risks. In the end, even he got into the pile.

Can you convince yourself that it's just bad luck ?

It's clearly not lucky. In fact, the fall could have allowed us to be Olympic champion, it destabilizes a race so much. But the fact of derailing as soon as I get up makes me lose a lot of time.

“It was a period when I didn't talk too much, I isolated myself”

We read that you suffered from depression after the Games.

After the Games, there is always a depressive period. We go through so much euphoria, such strong emotions, colossal pressure… At the Olympics, everything is increased tenfold. Even the decompression. It's crazy. I'm used to doing European championships, world championships where I compete for titles. But the Games at home, it's nothing like that.

When everything stops, inevitably, we have a backlash. Even the athletes who have performed, they need time to recover. These are lifelong goals. I had been preparing for them for eight years. When, for eight years, you play everything on a date… So there, the post-Olympic relaxation plus the fall…

Did this fall prevent you from sleeping ?

In fact, I didn't have any problems sleeping because I was exhausted. On the other hand, I was sad, depressed. It was a period when I didn't talk too much, I isolated myself. I needed to mourn the medal, the performance. I wanted to put that aside. And then, for me, these were my last Olympic Games. So, I had to go through these phases of mourning.

How did the athletes support you, or not, after the race? ?

The team is understanding. Everyone knew that it wasn't my fault, that I had nothing to reproach myself for. It allowed me to bounce back a little better. And then, a flat tire, a fall, a mechanical problem, these are things that happen. Dorian (Coninx) crashes two races before the Games and is not at 100%. It happens.

Then in a relay, it's not necessarily the best who wins.

Will you keep a good memory of the event, despite everything??

Completely. I loved it. Participating in the Games, at first, I didn't believe in it. In Tokyo (2021), I was taken off the Olympic team. I was made to understand that I didn't have my place. I had to find it again. That took even more effort. And therefore pride. I have no regrets. And on top of that, I had the best supporters.

Despite everything, you finished the season with more than decent results, right? ?

Let's just say it was okay. I wasn't at the level I was at the start of the season. I got a few good places thanks to experience and my job. Then we finished the season with four French people in the top 10, that was cool.

Let's imagine, in four years, you maintain your top level. Are the Los Angeles Games a possibility ?

It's very unlikely. Yes, I could be in shape. But in fact, you have to play the Olympic rankings. And for that, you have to do all the races. And I prefer to be competitive on the long distance.

Exactly, what are your plans for the future ?

I'm keeping one foot in the short distance, I'm currently 4th in the world, I'm going to compete in a few stages of the World Series. But I've slightly pivoted to another preparation, more focused on the long distance. It's new, I'm switching little by little. I want a transition. I will choose the races according to the distances, the prize money. This year, I don't have big ambitions. If I can get on the podiums in each race, so much the better. But the big goal, on the long distance, I set it in two years.

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