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By Matteo Morelli
Of their second yr as senior rivals, Loïcia Demougeot and Théo Le Mercier are a younger French workforce that’s already exhibiting a singular type on the ice. We met with them on the European Championships in Espoo, Finland, the place they shared how they really feel in regards to the present season and replicate on their transition from the junior to the senior subject.
Loïcia and Théo, this was your second European championships. How do you’re feeling after skating your programmes and securing a seventh place end on the occasion?
Théo Le Mercier (TL): we really feel fairly good, we did our new season greatest within the rhythm dance and we’re pleased. We didn’t do the perfect efficiency however we’re nonetheless pleased. A seventh at Euros is a extremely good end result for us.
Loïcia Demougeot (LD): We attempt to strategy the occasion with out an excessive amount of stress, exhibiting what we did in apply.
You might be each fairly younger: what age had been you if you began to skate?
TL: I used to be three after I put my skates on, I used to be with my father and my brother.
LD: And I began at 5 and a half years previous. Theo and I began skating collectively after I was fourteen and Theo was fifteen, so it has been just a few years now.
2015 was the yr you began skating collectively, along with your coaching location in Villard de Lans, France. Have you ever all the time been ice dancers?
TL: I did a number of sports activities, however on ice I’ve all the time completed ice dance.
LD: I additionally solely did ice dance, however with no companion first. Theo is my first companion.
TL: She is my second!
We perceive you additionally do “ballet sur la glace” or “theatre on ice”, a self-discipline that’s most likely not very well-known to the broader audiences. May you inform us one thing about it?
TL: We do theatre on ice with a bunch of fifteen-twenty individuals. It’s nearly as if we do ice dance in a bunch, we attempt to create a extremely particular and authentic ballet. There’s a Nations Cup every year, nearly an equal of the World Championships, though there are solely few international locations participating to it. You might say we’re world champions, however I desire to say that we’re Nations Cup winners. It’s a actually good occasion: this yr it’ll be in Boston, in the identical ice rink the place we did Skate America.
LD: You are able to do no matter you need on this self-discipline: for instance, you’ll be able to go on the ground, do one thing between individuals. There usually are not so many guidelines. In case you fall it’s okay, you’ll be able to go on the ice! It’s a number of enjoyable to do it with different individuals, notably as a result of we do it with the individuals we practice with.
You probably did a number of competitions throughout your junior years, together with profitable two silver medals at Junior Grand Prix and qualifying for the 2019 Junior Grand Prix Closing. What would you say was the perfect second for you throughout these years?
LD: Not the final yr!
TL: After we certified for the finals in Turin, I feel that was the perfect second. Positively not the final yr, due to Covid we did nothing. However the yr earlier than was the second we acquired found by these watching ice skating.
You then acquired nearly catapulted into your senior profession, and in your second yr as seniors you might have already collected two fourth locations at each Grand Prix occasions (Skate America and Grand Prix de France).
LD: We had an opportunity to begin our senior profession in a short time, we’re pleased about that. We simply hope to develop an increasing number of throughout large competitions and accumulate good outcomes. We’re pleased we had an opportunity to do our first two Grand Prix this yr.
Fascinated with your type, you come throughout as fairly distinctive and with programmes that all the time attempt to deliver one thing revolutionary on the ice.
TL: We all the time attempt to change our programmes and magnificence yearly. This yr, we went with Benoît Richaud, which is sweet for us as a result of he modified what we do and allowed us to deliver one thing new to the ice and to enhance on issues we couldn’t do earlier than. The programme is working very well and we’re very proud of that.
Have you ever acquired any long run targets you might be working in the direction of?
TL: We wish to be in all the things!
LD: We wish to go to the Olympic Video games. We simply wish to take it step-by-step and see what occurs.
Lastly, are there any ice dancers you take a look at and get inspiration from?
TL: After all Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, surely. For me personally, Scott Moir was a mannequin, and in addition Nikita Katsalapov: I feel they’ve a mode much like mine and I wish to preserve working to develop into pretty much as good as them.
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