Tokyo (AFP)

While the Tokyo Olympics are marked by the inner torments of the American gymnast Simone Biles, Alexandra Tavernier also went through a period of great mental distress, her "brain injuries" as she says nicely, before being reborn thanks to psychological follow-up.

"I am not ashamed to say it, I had a depression in 2016, told AFP the European vice-champion of the hammer, qualified Sunday for the final of the Olympics which will take place on Tuesday. 've never had a white season for physical injuries but I have had white seasons for brain injuries. "

For the Annecy-born pitcher, the troubles began the day after her world bronze medal in Beijing in 2015 at the age of 21.

Arriving young on the front of the stage, Tavernier had to leave the family cocoon very early, discovering the backdrop of professional sport and the harsh demands of the high level.

Weight gain, depression: the distance from his family completely upset his balance.

"I suddenly changed my training location and I arrived in a region that I did not know (in Lannion in Brittany, editor's note), she explained. It was complicated, especially as we always have been pampered, at Insep or with parents. We had to take charge, learn what life is, except that normally we have to learn it gradually. There, I was up against the wall. following".

The results were then at half mast after a sensational debut (junior world champion in 2012).

The Frenchwoman will thus suffer the only elimination of her career in qualifying for a major championship on a zero point in 2016 during the Euro played in Amsterdam.

This is the moment she chooses to consult from 2017 a psychologist, Meriem Salmi, who takes care of Teddy Riner among others.

She also changes coach by opting for Gilles Dupray, France record holder of the hammer.

- "Lost recklessness" -

"This 2015 medal with her carelessness, she deserved it, but after things caught up with her, this carelessness was lost," says the technician.

The work has in any case borne fruit, Alexandra Tavernier returning to the top of the bill at the European Championships in Berlin in 2018 with a 2nd place behind the Polish hammer queen Anita Wlodarczyk.

And she is approaching the Tokyo Olympics with possible medal chances after improving her French record (75.38 m) at the start of the year.

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"It works well, I understand things better, in my sporting and personal life", affirms Tavernier who fully assumes his choice to be assisted mentally.

“It takes courage to take the first step but it is not taboo to go to a shrink, to discuss our problems, she says. In an athlete, that can be perceived as a mark of weakness, but on the contrary, I find that it is a great strength. It must be said loud and clear. An athlete has doubts, we are still humans, not machines. "

Now perfectly blooming and well installed in her Breton haunt, in the small village of Pluzunet (Côtes d'Armor), the one who defines herself as a "high level rural" athlete is especially surprised by the French reluctance on the sensitive issue of the management of depression in athletes, which has become a topical issue with the setbacks of Simone Biles or the Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka.

"We are backwards in relation to mental preparation, she believes. I have relations with Polish and American women. We are light years away from what we could do on the management of the mental health. . The former DTN Patrice Gergès had set up a cell and had been a pioneer in this field. It is just starting to be democratized. We have to manage to open these doors because the mind is 80% performance. "

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