In Belgium, the veteran of the Canadian men’s team will be accompanied by Félix Dolci, William Émard, Jayson Rampersad and Zachary Clay. On the women’s side, Quebecers Rose Woo and Aurélie Tran will be on the Canadian team.

Cournoyer was patient in his rehabilitation and followed instructions to the letter. He definitely didn’t want to be the shoemaker with bad shoes studying physiotherapy at the University of Montreal.

During his first competitions, the gymnast practiced certain apparatus without landing to protect his healing knee. Today he is in good health and he approaches these World Championships with the goal of qualifying the Canadian men’s team for the Olympic Games in Paris.

“That is our claim. I firmly believe that we have a good chance this year and maybe even qualify for the final as a team, something that has never happened before in the history of men’s gymnastics in the country. We have a solid team and are much more stable than in other years. Honestly, we believe it! » says Cournoyer, who is 26 years old.

Canadians must finish among the top 12 teams to qualify for the Olympics. Last year they finished tenth. Her compatriots caused a surprise by climbing to the third step of the podium and securing their ticket to Paris.

Quebecers well represented

For the first time in a long time, the Canadian team is made up primarily of athletes from Quebec. Ontario native Jayson Rampersad was added to the list when he joined the Laval Excellence Club.

This over-representation in Quebec can be explained by two factors, according to Cournoyer.

“The first is that we have an excellent association in Quebec. We support our athletes enormously through grants or accommodation during sports studies. Things are much better in Quebec than in the other provinces and we have been excelling at this level for several years. […] Just having the opportunity to do both (sports and studies), that’s an opportunity that not everyone has,” notes the man from Tokyo, who was the only male gymnast to wear the Canadian colors at the Olympics.

“The second difference is that we have coaches who are starting to be really experienced, who have a great gymnastics philosophy and are able to apply their principles. »

René Cournoyer trains under the direction of Jean-Sébastien Tougas, while Félix Dolci and William Émard are coached by Adrian Balan. Added to this is the work of former coach Patrick Beauchamp, who now holds the position of program and training director at Gymnastics Québec.

The athletes and their coaches reached full maturity at the same time and a synergy emerged between the clubs and the association. The Repentignois is looking forward to experiencing this 2023 World Cup with his teammates, in whom he has complete trust.

“Having a team that trains for the same goal is a team aspect that I didn’t have at all a few years ago. I can benefit a lot there and they can benefit from my experience. »

As an example, he cites that the day before the interview with Sportcom, Canadians spent the evening watching a film about combating the effects of jet lag.

“It’s a much more interesting team bond than if everyone was alone and wasting time on the phone. »

The rest will be written starting next Saturday.