What do you love most about the heptathlon?
The diversity and the fact that I get to work on these very different events: throwing, jumping, running. Managing to put together a workout where you can fit everything in order to improve everywhere is a really big challenge. I'm a competitor, so I go after the medals in competitions. I chase the victory, but I think that deep down, what I enjoy most is the competition with myself, trying to surpass myself. My ultimate goal is to become the best athlete I can possibly be.
What are your greatest strengths?
My mind and the fact that I always want to go further, that I don't put limits on myself. When I want something, I give myself the means. I make sacrifices and work hard for it. That can be an advantage and a disadvantage because sometimes I find it hard to stop and rest. But with the years and with experience, it's something you learn and that's why I feel more and more comfortable and better in my sport.
I think that deep down, what I enjoy most is the competition with myself
What's the best advice a coach has ever given you?
I think athletics is an individual sport, so it's true that you're alone on the track and you're alone against yourself in competition, but it's also a team sport because the coach is very important in training and competition. Personally, the coaches I've had have given me a lot of advice over the years. That's how I've evolved a lot, but I think there are certain things you can only learn from yourself. The coaching side and the athlete side are two parts you have to work on and develop over the years.
What's a small thing you do that has a big impact on your performance?
I think it's the sum of all the small things that make a difference. Sometimes we have this idea that it's only the work on the track that counts – you train hard during training and then you go home. For me, an athlete's work never stops, morning to night. There's training, but there's also treatments, exercises at home, nutrition, going to bed early, it's so many little things.
When it comes to winter and summer competitions, which do you feel most confident about?
Indoor and outdoor are both fun but they're not exactly the same event. This year, the focus is on Paris, so we're not doing indoor and we're trying to have the ideal preparation to be at the best level once summer arrives.
What are your strategies for managing risk-related stress?
I always try to focus on what I can control. In top-level sport, there are going to be injuries, there are going to be counter-performances and things you can't avoid at the top level. I try to do everything right; I give my all at every training session, I do my treatments, I do all my exercises, I go to sleep early, I eat well so that the day something happens, I can't have any regrets and say to myself, 'Oh well, it's my fault, I could have done that, but I didn't because I was lazy, because I didn't feel like it, because I had something planned that evening.'
So, I really try to put all things on my side and focus on what I can control and that's it. There are things you can't avoid, and when they happen, there will always be bad times and you have to try to set a new goal, find a new way to achieve it and take it step by step. I think even in bad times, there's always something positive. You learn about yourself, about your body, about your sport.
What do you excel at outside the heptathlon?
I don't think I'm an expert in anything other than the heptathlon. I studied geography at university, though. So, if I hadn't been a professional athlete, maybe I would have been a really good geographer. There are a lot of things I'm interested in, but as more as a hobby and just for fun.
What's one thing you'd like to be really good at?
I'd love to have been a bit more DIY-savvy – knowing how to do things around the house and build furniture, that sort of thing.
What's your favourite event of the heptathlon?
I think I'm most comfortable in jumping events and technical events in general, so jumps and throws, but I don't really have a favourite. What I like about heptathlons is being able to do everything and the diversity.