APITHY-BRUNET Manon

Personal Information

Family Husband Bolade Apithy

Residence Paris, FRA

Occupation Armed Forces Athlete

Languages English, French

Higher education Marketing - EDHEC Business School : Roubaix, FRA

License number 07021996000

Club

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Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? She began fencing at age seven at the Sabre au Clair club in Lyon, France. Her potential was soon noticed by the national training hub [Pole Espoir] in Orleans, France, which led to her joining the Cercle d'Escrime Orleanais club and eventually the National Institute for Sport, Expertise and Performance [INSEP] in Paris, France.

Why this sport? "I was doing taekwondo and dancing but I didn't enjoy them. A friend of mine then suggested I try fencing. What attracted me at first - and it's kind of funny - was the sort of disguise you get to wear. I was the only girl at the fencing club, and I loved it."

Club / Team Cercle d'Escrime Orleanais: France

Name of coach Matthieu Gourdain [national]; Christian Bauer [personal]

Handedness Right

General Interest

Nicknames Brunette (piao.fr, 26 Nov 2016)

Memorable sporting achievement Winning two medals at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (sportmag.fr, 21 Dec 2021)

Most influential person in career Her parents. (pianetascherma.com, 24 Jul 2016)

Hero / Idol French judoka Clarisse Agbegnenou. (all-tigers.com, 21 Sep 2020)

Injuries From July 2020 to January 2021 she struggled with recurrent tendinitis in her adductor [thigh] muscles, which was caused by returning to training too intensively following the end of COVID-19 lockdown in France. (larep.rf, 13 Mar 2021; sport24.lefigaro.fr, 10 Aug 2020)

Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs "I created a routine with my mental trainer to put myself in a kind of bubble and try to put myself into combat mode. Often, we have a ritual in competition where we are invited to go into a waiting room and then out onto the piste with our referee and our opponent. In that room, I do my little mental warm-up routine and a little physical warm-up to wake up my body and my mind." (le-medias-blog-de-julian.over-blog.com, 27 Feb 2021)

Sporting philosophy / motto "Fencing, for me, is a complete sport that requires a variety of skills, reflexes, self-control and respect. I do this sport so much that it almost feels like my sabre is part of my body." (sportmag.fr, 30 Oct 2019)

Awards and honours In 2021 she was named Knight of the National Order of Merit by the French government. (legifrance.gouv.fr, 08 Sep 2021)

Famous relatives Her husband Bolade Apithy represented France in fencing at the 2012 and 2020 Olympic Games. Her father, Philippe, played football for French Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais. (SportsDeskOnline, 07 Apr 2022; sportmag.fr, 21 Dec 2021, 30 Oct 2019)

Ambitions To win a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (sportmag.fr, 21 Dec 2021)

Other information IMPROVEMENT AT OLYMPICS
She finished in fourth place in individual sabre at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She then won individual bronze and team silver five years later at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, and she put the improvement down to increased maturity. "When I get touched now, I don't react like before. I manage my emotions better. I feel like what I have done on the piste since the [2016] Games frightens my rivals more. I have improved technically and tactically a lot. When I came home with my two medals, I looked at them and said to myself, 'Finally, I want even more'. I want to relive those moments already and feel the adrenaline when you enter the track and the emotion when you get on the podium." (sportmag.fr, 21 Dec 2021; dicodusport.fr, 02 Apr 2021; larep.fr, 12 Jun 2017)

FINDING A MENTAL COACH
In 2018 she sought the help of a mental trainer after a recommendation from French national teammate Yannick Borel. Ten months later she won an individual silver medal at the European championships in Dusseldorf, Germany. "When Yannick Borel won [individual epee gold] in Wuxi [2018 World Championships], I went to see him to congratulate him and ask him for his secret. He said to me, 'We all have physicality, but what is often lacking is the mind. Do you work on the mind?' I then found Stephane Limouzin - the same mental coach as Yannick. Now I feel more solid. Before, I was stressed. Now I can focus on what's important." (lequipe.fr, 20 Jul 2019)

EARLY DAYS
At age 15 she left her home in Lyon to join the national training hub [Pole Espoir] in Orleans, France. "I'm an only child so it was a bit hard for my parents at first, and even for me, but in the end it was a very important step, and my parents were proved right in sending me. They called me often and I had also a very attentive trainer. I think it went very well thanks to the boarding school where we were limited by the hours." (lesportaufeminin.fr, 12 Oct 2020)

OCCUPATION
After the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro she joined France's national Gendarmerie through the 'Army of Champions' initiative for elite athletes. (mobile.interieur.gouv.fr, 26 Aug 2020; sport24.lefigaro.fr, 10 Aug 2020)