"It did me a lot of good to change": Nice swimmer Lilou Ressencourt opens up before heading into the world championships tonight in Singapore

A year after the Olympic Games, where she competed in the 4x100m mixed medley heats, Lilou Ressencourt is now discovering the world championships, where she qualified in the individual (100m and 200m butterfly). It was from Jakarta, where she was training with the French national team, that the ONN swimmer and student at Berkeley in California, took the time to talk about her new American life.

What are your ambitions for these world championships?

It's more important than last year. At the Olympics, I was discovering the French team. Now, I have clearer goals; I'd like to reach two semi-finals in my two individual races.

You won two French championship titles with two personal bests (58:02 in the 100m butterfly and 2:08:81 in the 200m butterfly) in Montpellier in June. Does that give you confidence?

Yes, it gives me confidence, it's reassuring, but I'll have to swim faster at the world championships to reach the semifinals. It was in line with what I'd been doing for the past year. I felt like I'd made progress in the United States and I managed to capitalize on it by improving my times by a few tenths.

At the Olympics, you swam the mixed 4x100m medley, which took ^4th place. The relays could make you a world medalist...

I'm going to swim more with the relays, I'll probably do both medley relays, but I'm not planning that much. I'm ready and it would be a pleasure, but the line-ups can change right up until the last minute. In Paris, this relay finished ^4th , but they're never the same races, and not the same swimmers either...

What did your year at Berkeley (she is doing a Masters in Sports Management) bring you?

A lot of things. Sportingly, I improved in parts where I wasn't the best: the non-swimming parts, like the glides, which are more numerous in the yard pools (0.914m).

And, personally, it did me a lot of good to change. I spent eight wonderful years in Nice, and I went to the Olympics with Fabrice (Pellerin), but I needed a change. It was the best decision I could make to get back on track.

Is there more physical training in the United States?

Much more. It's the same amount of weight training as in France, but we do dryland training three times a season. It's based on core strength training, PPG (General Physical Preparation), and no weights.

Are you bilingual?

I already spoke good English because I had made foreign friends through swimming and I had taken lessons before leaving. So the integration went well. And then there are other French swimmers (Mewen Tomac, Nans Mazellier and Mary-Ambre Moluh). It was so cool, it allowed me to get to know them better, we could share our experiences.

What did you miss most about the United States?

I'm not going to be very original, but the food. We don't eat as badly as I thought, I can cook however I like, but I don't find the pastries, cheeses, appetizers. In short, what is very French. In France, we have a love for food that few countries have. And, of course, I miss my loved ones, but I was already far from my family (she is from the Hautes-Pyrénées). Now, with the time difference, it's harder to reach them. And the last thing is the gigantism. Here, everything is enormous. In Nice, even though it's a big city, I had my small shops, my little café. I haven't found those habits again. Berkeley is a student city, with a huge campus.

You will stay in the United States for another year...

Yes, I have one more year of university. After that? I'll return to Europe, but I plan to stop my studies and focus on swimming until the 2028 Olympics (in Los Angeles).

With an important milestone: the European Championships in Paris in 2026?

Of course, it's a goal that many French swimmers have in mind. Plus, there will be four French swimmers per event. It won't be the same scale as the Games, but representing our country on home soil will be something very intense.

What remains of the Games in France?

Two weeks after the Games, I was in the US. I didn't have time to realize I'd done them, because I already had to readjust to my new country. Everything was changing, I had to rebuild my life. But I experienced a setback in November-December, fortunately quite short. Yet I didn't win a medal, but the post-Olympic comeback isn't easy. It was so intense and the culmination of four years of work. You had to find a goal and the desire, it wasn't easy. Fortunately, I was well supported and I quickly found my love for swimming again.