Pierre Plihon
Mimi Landström speaks to the French international
ow did I spend lockdown? In my apartment. Luckily I was able to put a target at 2m in my living room. And I had my dog!"
Pierre Plihon, one of the most charismatic archers on the international circuit, seems to have an ability to put a brave face on pretty much anything.
Plihon first made the national recurve side in 2014, bursting onto the scene by winning European team gold and individual bronze. He was part of the team who won silver at the 2017 World Championships in Mexico. He also qualified for Rio 2016 along with Lucas Daniel and Jean-charles Valladont.
This year he hit new heights, posting a 695 indoor qualification, making the top 16 at the Indoor World Series Finals and being once again named to the French national side – even if their opportunities to shoot have, needless to say, been mostly curtailed this summer. In February he was shooting "hot as embers", in the words of his coach Olivier Grillat.
When the announcement came that Tokyo was postponed, "it was like a bomb in my whole body. I got really depressed."
"The Olympics was the only things keeping my head out of the water during the lockdown, but the time fix always everything and my surrounding (friend, coaches and family) were a great help to keep the practice running. I would like to make a point of it, even if you stand alone on the shooting line, I like to see the big team I have to build my Olympic dream."
It was particularly infuriating for the 31 year old from Nimes, who had "worked like hell" for
the last four years after losing in the first round to Mete Gazoz at the Sambodromo.
"I believed in a medal. I saw myself armed to go and win one." he told French newspaper Midi-libre in March.
As well as his international career, Plihon is well-known as one of the organisers behind the Nîmes Archery Tournament, and has seen it grow through the years into one of the key stopping points on the archery calendar, eventually becoming part of the Indoor World Series. So far – touch wood - the tournament seems to be going ahead in its usual spot in January next year, although needless to say, nothing is set in stone right now, with the indoor calendar looking malleable at the very least through next year.
Lockdown has changed the way that most archers train around the world, giving new insight into how training can be adapted. Pierre explained what he has changed and adapted to ensure he can keep training towards Tokyo. "A corona-friendly tournament? Sure. We organize head-to-head cyber matches with my teammates from the national team. I also attend a cyber competition in Sweden. I like the format. You can gather 50 people max, so you organize a
"THE BEST TIP I COULD GIVE IS BUILD YOUR TECHNIQUE ACCORDING WHAT THE BOW NEEDS TO WORK EFFICIENTLY, AND TRUST IT NO MATTER WHAT."
competition in your club if you want and the results are gathered with other clubs who want to organize something."
How do you train? What tips and hints can you give us? "I believe in a strong technique to deliver the shot, no matter the situation. The whole work you need to do outside shooting is meant to build a stronger technique. The best tip I could give is build your technique according what the bow needs to work efficiently, and trust it no matter what."
How have you adapted your training during COVID-19? "As I said, I was shooting in my living room, not the best and kind of boring when you are ready to compete, spending weeks shooting short distance is really not fun, but it is what it is."
"Then as soon as I had the opportunity to travel to my girlfriend in Sweden, I took