INTERVIEW
It's not just physical competitions that are suffering the full brunt of the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic. Online sport has also had to adapt to the constraints imposed by confinement, even if new technologies allow it to benefit from more room for maneuver. "In normal times, our players train daily in a training center, like any high-level athlete. What becomes more complicated when everyone is confined to home", points at the microphone of Matthieu Belliard, in the morning of Europe 1, Yannick Agnel, former world and Olympic swimming champion, who became sports director of an e-sport team.
The ex-swimmer describes days comparable to those of very high level athletes. "We are on the basis of what I could do a few years ago: six to seven hours of training per day, with physical activity, nutritional, medical and psychological follow-up," he lists. In short, an intensive program directly impacted by containment. "We are very far from the cliché of the spotty geek sprawled on his sofa with his crisps and his bottle of Redbull. These are real athletes who train to be as efficient as possible, and as long as possible," insists Yannick Agnel.
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Maintaining competitions
If some competitions organized in large exhibition halls, and bringing together several thousand players, had to be canceled due to the health crisis, others manage to compete online. "Fortunately, everyone has a good connection. Quickly, the event organizers and successful video game developers were able to transform physical competitions into online competitions, which allowed us to participate in European level competitions", he salutes.
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Yannick Agnel admits to playing "very little". Its role consists essentially in managing the physical activity of the players, their nutrition, the team spirit, or even the balance between studies and video games. "All that will compose their performance and their well-being."