CANNONE Romain

Personal Information

Residence Paris, FRA

Occupation Athlete, Office Worker

Languages English, French

Higher education Business Administration - NEOMA Business School: France

License number 12041997006

Club

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Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? He took up the sport at age 12 while his family was living in New York, NY, United States of America.

Why this sport? He was introduced to fencing while looking after his cousin, who was involved in the sport. "I started fencing by chance. I had tried a multitude of sports without really sticking to any. I was babysitting for my cousin, and instead of sitting and watching [my cousin] from the side like the parents do, I wanted to give it a try."

Club / Team VGA Escrime Saint-Maur: France

Handedness Right

General Interest

Nicknames Pano [from 'Peter Pan'. He got the nickname when he first joined the French national team due to his movement on the piste]. (20minutes.fr, 15 Nov 2021)

Hobbies Spending time in nature, climbing, playing chess, swimming, cycling, badminton, surfing, slacklining, yoga. (rtl.fr, 22 Jul 2023)

Memorable sporting achievement Winning gold in individual epee at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (rtl.fr, 22 Jul 2023; 20minutes.fr, 15 Nov 2021)

Sporting philosophy / motto "The Olympic Games is the holy grail, but I have lots of other titles I want to win." (lequipe.fr, 20 Jan 2022)

Awards and honours He was named Fencer of the Year by the French Fencing Federation [FFE] in 2021 and 2022. (Federation Francaise d'Escrime Instagram profile, 16 Nov 2022; vga-fr.org, 09 Dec 2021)

After winning gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he was made a Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour by the president of France. (lequipe.fr, 20 Jan 2022)

Milestones At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo he became the youngest French fencer to have won an individual epee Olympic gold medal. He claimed victory in the event at age 24 years and 104 days in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 07 Mar 2021)

Ambitions To win individual and team gold medals at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (rtl.fr, 22 Jul 2023)

Other information SURPRISE OLYMPIC CHAMPION
A month before the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo he was selected for the French Olympic team as a replacement for teammate Daniel Jerent in individual epee. He had initially been chosen as a reserve for the team event. His individual epee world ranking was 47 at the time of the Games, but he went on to win gold in the event, which was France's first Olympic individual gold medal in fencing since Brice Guyart won men's foil gold in 2004. "The daily routine makes you put your feet back on the ground, which is fortunate. But I go back to training like everyone else, everyone treats me the same way as before. You cannot relax because you have won a title. Now you have a target on your back. It's a double-edged sword - you scare some people but others want to fight you even more because you're an Olympic champion. I want to achieve even more." (ouest-france.fr, 16 Jan 2022; lequipe.fr, 17 Nov 2021; 20minutes.fr, 15 Nov 2021)

EARLY DAYS
Born in France, he moved to Brazil as a child with his family, and went to primary school there. He later spent six years in New York, NY, United States of America. In 2016, he left his studies at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, United States of America, to return to France to join the VGA Escrime Saint-Maur club and pursue qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games, where he won individual epee gold. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Mar 2022; olympics.com, 25 Jul 2021)

OCCUPATION
In January 2022 he began working for energy company EDF under an elite athlete contract that allows him to compete in fencing alongside a professional career in a management role for the company. "This allows me to combine sport and work with a part-time contract, working two days a week at the company and the rest working remotely. In our sport in general, we don't earn a living, that's why I'm going to work at EDF." (LinkedIn profile, 01 Feb 2024; rtl.fr, 22 Jul 2023; lequipe.fr, 20 Jan 2022)

FURTHER EDUCATION
He has a master's degree in auditing from the SKEMA Business School in France. (skema-bs.fr, 14 Sep 2022; LinkedIn profile, 01 Oct 2020)