CANDASSAMY Marie-Florence

Personal Information

Occupation Athlete

Languages English, French

License number 26021991002

Club

Upcoming Events

Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? She began fencing at age seven.

Why this sport? Her father competed in fencing at international level. She initially took up foil but her coach encouraged her to switch to epee. "He understood foil was not for me and very quickly he switched me to epee because I had this reflex of stretching my arm, which is an epee typical movement."

Club / Team Paris Universite Club: France

Name of coach Herve Faget [national]

Training Regime She trains at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance [INSEP] in Paris, France.

Handedness Right

General Interest

Nicknames Mariflo, MF (NOC Media Guide, 2016)

Hobbies Cinema, drawing, music. (marieflorencecandassamy.com, 13 Jan 2020)

Memorable sporting achievement Competing at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (paris.fr, 04 Jul 2022)

Hero / Idol French fencer Laura Flessel-Colovic, and French track athlete Marie-Jose Perec. (marieflorencecandassamy.com, 13 Jan 2020)

Sporting philosophy / motto "One of my favorite expressions is, 'You have to give time to time'. As an athlete, I'm very intuitive, but this quality can prove to be a flaw when it is not framed by patience. So, I learned to make time my best ally to achieve my goals. I got to know myself and trust my instincts, which have been sharpened over the years in the arena. I got to know my body and trust my physical abilities, developed through hard work over the years in training. I also observe a lot of what is going on around me - including watching my opponents fence - in order to analyse the situation before me. This allows me to learn more about myself with the sole objective of climbing the ladder, while giving me the freedom to evolve and grow." (marieflorencecandassamy.com, 13 Jan 2020)

Famous relatives Her father has fenced at international level. (gm-sponsoring.com, 01 Sep 2020)

Ambitions To win a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (gm-sponsoring.com, 01 Sep 2020; marieflorencecandassamy.com, 13 Jan 2020)

Other information HERITAGE
She grew up in Paris in mainland France to a father from Martinique and a mother from Guadeloupe, which are both overseas French territories. "I was especially immersed in the culture of my Afro-Caribbean origins. For me, it's a culture of infinite beauty from culinary to music - including outspokenness. It remains very present in my daily life and is important to me." (gm-sponsoring.com, 01 Sep 2020; marieflorencecandassamy.com, 13 Jan 2020)

OCCUPATION
She has worked as a sports teacher at Paris Universite Club. She also has a French state diploma [Master of Arms] in fencing, which she studied from 2017 to 2018. (allyteams.com, 01 Sep 2020)