“IT WAS LIKE AN OVERALL EXHAUSTION”
Almost two years later, in November 2021, after a practice session at Gran Premio d’Italia in Turin, we ask Romain Haguenauer to come back to that particular moment: the Europeans in Graz.
Looking back at the event, the performances themselves, the wait in the Kiss and Cry after the free dance, the turmoil of emotions at the end of that night, what does the coach see?
He had surely come to a more definite conclusion about it.
“It was a long time ago”, Romain starts. But, with everything that we know it happened from that moment on – the pandemic, the world shutting down – the coach’s retrospective answer is a journey that is needed.
“If I remember it now – and it was not my feeling at the time, but now, after two years… – and I remember because here, in Palavela, I saw on the screen a picture of Gaby and Guillaume that season… They used it to announce the dance event, and there were Gaby and Guillaume with the [Find You] costumes… and I said to myself: Oh, wow, that was very dark. You know? They were in black, Gaby’s hair was dark, and knowing what happened after the Europeans…
Before Europeans, we were from competition to competition – so we realized it a bit after, and during the pandemic, that they had already started to… kind of burn-out.
It happened after the Grand Prix Final [in December 2019]: they won, it was good – but after, it was like an overall exhaustion”.
Remember: the Grand Prix Final that season happened in Turin, in the same arena, Palavela – and the space itself has kept some of the memories, as if it were a sponge. And so the coach paints an even more detailed picture, almost like an X-ray picture of what followed after the Final for Gabriella and Guillaume, 2020 Europeans included.
“We had the French Nationals one week after the Final, and it was fine, it was easy for them, afterwards they stayed in France for Christmas – and when they came back in Montreal before New Year, or after New Year, they were tired.
They were just tired, and they didn’t feel to have the energy to really train properly, which is something that had never happened before, Gaby had anxiety… It was like when you feel you had enough, you don’t know what you’re doing, why you are here – it was a bit like that.
We managed to keep them Ok, but, you know, it was the Europeans Championships [coming], you had to be trained, you can’t just [show up] – it’s not an exhibition number.
Even if you are maybe the best, at the time [of the competition] you have to show that you skate fast, with precision etcetera”.
TO GO OR NOT TO GO… TO GRAZ
Under these circumstances, with the training being difficult and 2020 Europeans approaching, one particular talk happened, the coach says.
“I remember I had a meeting with them, and I said: Ok, you don’t feel super good, it’s understandable, you have done so much, and nobody will… I remember now, talking to you, I said exactly: Everyone from the team-là – me, Marie-France, Patrice – we all understand that, and you are not forced to go to Europeans. If you don’t feel [ready to go], if you don’t want – you don’t go. Because we see you are tired. You have done the beginning of the season – and if you don’t go, if you decide that you need a break, it’s fine for us.
And they decided to go”.
Eyes on that exact moment, the coach continues: “Maybe it was a mistake, I don’t know, we don’t re-write the story, but I don’t think it was a mistake, because they took the decision. It was not our decision, it was not the federation’s decision – it was their decision to go, and we, as coaches, supported the decision.
I told them: As a coach, I have to tell you the truth, you are maybe at 50%, but if you want to do it, I won’t [say No], otherwise you’ll maybe regret it. So let’s go – we’ll do this together.
But arriving in Graz, I remember, they were… I think it’s like they wanted it that to happen”.
Significant pause here.
“You know? To really face the fact they were not ready, in proper shape. And they were not.
And I remember also that after the free dance, we had a meeting at the hotel, and they both told me: You know, Romain, we are happy that we are second. Because, first, we were not ready – and we had enough to win all the time. So, yes, I think they wanted this to happen”.
MOVING FORWARD… TO WHAT? WORLDS GETTING CANCELLED, WORLD SHUTTING DOWN
What followed after Graz? A much needed break for Gabriella and Guillaume.
“After the Europeans they took two or three weeks completely off. And I think it was great [to have that] – it had been mentally tough for both of them.
And so Gaby left for South America, you know, to really… And when she came back, they were good – they really came back in a good mindset. We prepared very well for the World Championships, which was [to happen] in Montreal. And they were much more ready for Worlds than they had been before Europeans.
You never know what it would have happened – but… it got cancelled”.
Scheduled to be held in Montreal, Canada, from 16 to 22 March, the competition was cancelled by the Quebec government and Quebec Health Ministry just a couple of days prior, on March 11, due to concerns over COVID-19 rapidly spreading across the world. By that time, fear, uncertainty, unknown were spreading even faster.
Their skating school based exactly in Montreal, Romain offers a glimpse of the atmosphere at the time.
“We were in Montreal, in the heart of the city that was supposed to host the Worlds, we were waiting for the official practice to begin… and we didn’t expect to be cancelled. Because, in Canada, at the time there was nothing about COVID – when they cancelled Worlds, the COVID did not exist in Canada.
They cancelled because of what was happening in Europe, in the rest of the world… Canada anticipated a lot the protection. World Championships was actually the first event in all country to fall down, there were news on TV… I remember, I was at the gym, and I was running – and I watched the TV and it was a big news-là: World Championships in Montreal, cancelled.
But because we had a lot of teams that were supposed to compete, we didn’t say: Ok, World Championships is finished, we close the school and go on vacation. No, we didn’t do that-là. We were very careful about keeping the energy and being all together through that”.
They planned to do their own Worlds instead.
“At the time, they cancelled the Worlds, but everything else was open. So we said: On the week of the Championships we can do at least a gala, an exhibition, and we can invite people, to finish the season properly.
And we planned to do that, we trained for that, and the day it was supposed to happen, or the day before, they said: No, we are going to close the rink, or we are not allowing anyone to enter.
But we did something after all: we did an online event, in a room inside the ice rink – just to explain, just to finish-là. Because you have a beginning, and you need an ending of the season as well”.
“WE NEVER SAID: WE WAIT UNTIL THE WORLD RESTARTS”
And as the entire world was shutting down, the head coaches in Montreal – responsible for a large number of teams, from a large number of countries – were making plans to stay afloat, and even more.
“It was progressively growing – but we always had a plan for the next day. Bah, we managed the pandemic period, when we were all in lockdown, we managed that. The school, we were very practical from the beginning, we organized them: the skaters had activities five hours per day on Zoom, we did a lot of meetings together, they did some ballroom, they did some classes, some hip-hop with Sam, with the coaches to talk about the future theme of the programs – we were super practical.
On Fridays we had a Cinq à Sept, when we were all on Zoom to drink, to talk about everybody’s life…”
Romain smiles.
They couldn’t act as usual, but they did act “in a positive way. We said: Ok, there is a lockdown – but it will be a season, it will reopen. We never said: We wait until the world restarts.
No, they said it was going to reopen in June, so let’s plan to June – if there is a season, if there are some Grand Prix, we have to be ready. So let’s start, let’s do it!
And when we reopened, it was mid-June, they were all on ice, and we did new programs. And for Gaby and Guillaume as well”.