Martial arts: Alésien Romann Laroudie wants his world medal

Romann Laroudie est prêt pour le grand rendez-vous mondial. Midi Libre

The 18-year-old from Cévennes is taking part in the Wako Junior Kickboxing World Championships, starting on 25 August in Budapest (Hungary). Presentation.

"The final goal is the podium." Romann Laroudie, just 18 years old, is not short of ambition when it comes to the WAKO junior kickboxing world championships, which he will be taking part in in Budapest, starting on August 25.

Undefeated this season

Surely inspired by the recent Paris Olympics, the Cévenol with the Olympic spirit has reason to believe. Double French champion of kick-boxing and full-contact in – 71 kg, he has won all his fights this season. Now ranked second in the world, he also won the World Cup in his category in Turkey, last May. Suffice to say that he will be one of the men to beat in Hungary, where he will also find the n°1 and n°3.

"At the beginning of the season, I didn't even know that there were world championships at the end. I learned it four months ago, with the training sessions with the French team and the deadlines we were going to have for the selected ones“, explains the Gardois.

Foncier, puissance, mental, poids

The Alésien, who trains at the FCC (Full contact cévenol) and is coached by Élan Nouvel and his uncle Bernard Laroudie, spent the entire vacation preparing. By organizing himself with a retroplanning, he worked on his basics in advance and then optimized the remaining time on his power. “We worked on his muscle strengthening and tone, little by little, we will reduce the work time to work on speed and have a better recovery time to be in shape on the big day”, explains Bernard Laroudie.

In addition to this physical preparation, the young boxer is accompanied by a physiotherapist who takes care of him almost daily and allows him to treat all the little ailments. With his physiotherapist who also has a background in the field, he also works on his mental preparation before each major competition.

“We have put one thing in place, which is to note down each feeling after each training session in a few lines, to see what comes out the most, if it is positivity or something else, admits Romann. Then, I try to visualize the fight by closing my eyes, manage my breathing. I don't have much of a routine before the fight, I just stay in my bubble."

No more juniors, it's time for adults at the start of the school year

The one who will fight from August 26 to 31, if all goes well, will have to maintain his weight throughout the competition, one of the hardest things according to him because he will be weighed every morning. And even if he loses weight after each fight, he can't eat as he pleases for fear of exceeding the required limit. One more constraint for a young champion who will be launching himself into the adult world at the start of the school year.

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