Demougeot & Le Mercier Replicate and Look Forward

By Matteo Morelli

Of their second yr as senior rivals, Loïcia Demougeot and Théo Le Mercier are a younger French staff that’s already exhibiting a novel type on the ice. We met with them on the European Championships in Espoo, Finland, the place they shared how they really feel in regards to the present season and mirror on their transition from the junior to the senior discipline.

Loïcia and Théo, this was your second European championships. How do you’re feeling after skating your programmes and securing a seventh place end on the occasion?

Théo Le Mercier (TL): we really feel fairly good, we did our new season greatest within the rhythm dance and we’re pleased. We didn’t do the most effective efficiency however we’re nonetheless pleased. A seventh at Euros is a extremely good consequence for us. 

Loïcia Demougeot (LD): We attempt to strategy the occasion with out an excessive amount of stress, exhibiting what we did in follow. 

You’re each fairly younger: what age have been you if you began to skate?

TL: I used to be three after I put my skates on, I used to be with my father and my brother.

LD: And I began at 5 and a half years previous. Theo and I began skating collectively after I was fourteen and Theo was fifteen, so it has been a number of years now. 

2015 was the yr you began skating collectively, together with your coaching location in Villard de Lans, France. Have you ever all the time been ice dancers?

TL: I did plenty of sports activities, however on ice I’ve all the time performed ice dance. 

LD: I additionally solely did ice dance, however with no associate first. Theo is my first associate.

TL: She is my second!

We perceive you additionally do “ballet sur la glace” or “theatre on ice”, a self-discipline that’s most likely not very well-known to the broader audiences. Might you inform us one thing about it?

TL: We do theatre on ice with a gaggle of fifteen-twenty folks. It’s nearly as if we do ice dance in a gaggle, we attempt to create a extremely particular and authentic ballet. There’s a Nations Cup every year, nearly an equal of the World Championships, though there are solely few nations participating to it. You possibly can say we’re world champions, however I want to say that we’re Nations Cup winners. It’s a actually good occasion: this yr it’s going to be in Boston, in the identical ice rink the place we did Skate America. 

LD: You are able to do no matter you need on this self-discipline: for instance, you possibly can go on the ground, do one thing between folks. There will not be so many guidelines. In the event you fall it’s okay, you possibly can go on the ice! It’s plenty of enjoyable to do it with different folks, notably as a result of we do it with the folks we prepare with. 

You probably did plenty of competitions throughout your junior years, together with profitable two silver medals at Junior Grand Prix and qualifying for the 2019 Junior Grand Prix Ultimate. What would you say was the most effective second for you throughout these years?

LD: Not the final yr!

TL: After we certified for the finals in Turin, I believe that was the most effective second. Undoubtedly not the final yr, due to Covid we did nothing. However the yr earlier than was the second we obtained found by these watching ice skating.

You then obtained nearly catapulted into your senior profession, and in your second yr as seniors you’ve got already collected two fourth locations at each Grand Prix occasions (Skate America and Grand Prix de France). 

LD: We had an opportunity to begin our senior profession in a short time, we’re pleased about that. We simply hope to develop an increasing number of throughout huge competitions and accumulate good outcomes. We’re pleased we had an opportunity to do our first two Grand Prix this yr.

Serious about your type, you come throughout as fairly distinctive and with programmes that all the time attempt to convey one thing progressive on the ice.

TL: We all the time attempt to change our programmes and elegance yearly. This yr, we went with Benoît Richaud, which is nice for us as a result of he modified what we do and allowed us to convey one thing new to the ice and to enhance on issues we couldn’t do earlier than. The programme is working very well and we’re very pleased with that. 

Have you ever obtained any long run targets you might be working in direction of?

TL: We wish to be in the whole lot!

LD: We want to go to the Olympic Video games. We simply wish to take it step-by-step and see what occurs. 

Lastly, are there any ice dancers you take a look at and get inspiration from?

TL: After all Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, indubitably. For me personally, Scott Moir was a mannequin, and in addition Nikita Katsalapov: I believe they’ve a mode just like mine and I wish to preserve working to grow to be pretty much as good as them.