25 September 2009 - Romain GIROUILLE (FRA): “It’s a pleasure to shoot against an archer that is more experienced”

Romain GIROUILLE (FRA): “It’s a pleasure to shoot against an archer that is more experienced” Copenhagen (DEN) – 25 September 2009  
Romain GIROUILLE (FRA) is one of the new talents on the archery circuit. A World Youth Champion in 2006 and World Cup bronze medallist in 2008, he recently led the French team to the silver medal at the World Championships in Ulsan. We met him in Copenhagen where he competed at the World Cup Final.
How did you start archery? I started it by chance. When I was in elementary school, a small party was organised in the end of every year. Many activities were set up, and that is how I tried archery for the first time. I was 10 years old. I started to train on a regular basis from the very beginning, once or twice a week, and then three times, to finally increase to twice a day nowadays.
Please describe your typical training schedule? I train twice a day, five times a week. I rest on Saturday and Sunday. But I sometimes also practice on Saturday, especially before a big event. Apart from technical training, I also do physical practice (I go to the gym and take runs). As for the mental aspect, I practice by learning to master my emotions in competition. I do visualisations in order to learn to manage better the mental aspect of archery.
What do you do outside of archery? I’m a student. I have been in college for two years and have started a new education this year to become a coach. I’m studying in Paris, in the Career Centre where I also train in archery. I attend theoretical classes, classes in anatomy, pedagogy, and so on. We have a specially arranged schedule that allows combining training with theoretical classes. If everything goes well, I will graduate in five years, in 2014.
What are your expectations here in Copenhagen? First of all, to enjoy myself! This final will be a blast: the season is already over with the world championships behind us. It will only be fun. But I hope to perform at least as well as last year in Lausanne, where I had won the bronze medal.
You will shoot the semifinal against Simon TERRY (GBR), who is one of the most experienced international archers and has won two Olympic medals at the Barcelona Games in 1992. How do you feel about this match? It’s always a pleasure to shoot against an archer who is more experienced than I am. I’m going to observe how he copes with the event and the matches. I will have a lot of things to learn!
What are your goals for the future? I will try to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London and for the 2016 Games. We don’t know yet where they will be held, but this will be decided next week! No matter what, I want to go on competing internationally.
What is your opinion on the new rules approved by the FITA Congress at the end of August, in particular the new set system? I haven’t really followed the introduction of the new rules, but if they have been approved by the majority, they must be interesting and good for the archers. I haven’t shot in the set system yet. We will have to wait for one or two seasons to see if it is a benefit to archery.
How do you see the future of archery? On the world level archery is getting better and better. The events that are being organised today have nothing to do with those that were held ten years ago!
Thank you Romain and good luck!
Vanahé ANTILLE FITA Communication