She participated to her first Senior competition last September in Halle. She will arrive at the Rabat Premier League (April 6th-8th) with two finals on her records, including a success in Rotterdam three weeks ago !

At 18 years old, Gwendoline Philippe (-61 kg), two-times World champion (Junior in 2015, U21 in 2017), European champion (Junior in 2016), already shines out. And if she was going to beat her elders to the punch...

By Ludovic Mauchien / Photos : K-photos

It is seldom easy to cross the gap between the Youth and Senior categories. An adaptation to the timing, the strategy and the techniques of the « grown-ups » is often essential, even sometimes prohibitive. Regarding the results of Gwendoline Philippe since last September, it seems that she is not concerned by this motto. Six Karate 1, three podium : a 3rd place at Istanbul's Serie A last September, a Premier League final in Paris last January and a success in Rotterdam last March.

In fact, she found one difficulty... The one « to be happy with a 2^nd place, to say that it’s great to rank 2^nd at the Paris Open. But 2^nd, it means we didn’t win. For me, that really was the difficulty. In the youngest categories, when I finished 2^nd or 3rd, it was a great failure ». Gwendoline Philippe is set to win. Trained at the Samurai 2000 of Le Mans for five years, until her arrival at the Pole France in September 2017, she has left little crumbs to others since its debut in competition.

« I won my first national medals when I was 9 », she tells us. « At 11, I won my first gold medal. So, at 13, I decided to train at the Samurai 2000 to aim higher results. It is the flagship club of my region. For me, it was like the Grail. I wanted to integrate it to become world champion. And I did it ».

« SHE PUTS PERFORMANCE ABOVE EVERYTHING »

In 2015, she is the European Cadet champion runner-up and she wins the Junior Worlds. In 2016, she becomes Junior European Champion. In October 2017, she becomes the U21 World Champion. In 2018, she starts to scare all her opponents, which does not surprise her trainer, Didier Moreau. « She confirms all the good I thought of her in terms of her technical level, her ability to absorb information, her work force, which is huge, sometimes even too much. I spent a lot of my time, when she was in Le Mans, braking and not pushing her.

For example, in class, she was unable to sit for 20 minutes. We managed to get the high school teachers to agree that she can get up and walk for two seconds at a time. If that's the only way she can perform, what's the problem? The athlete must be in the center.

In addition, she has a large technical background. Ura of both legs, Mawashi of both legs... She can do the techniques she wants in any way. And, the most important, mentally speaking, she is a killer. We often say that but, in her case, she is really one. She puts performance above everything ».

Last September, Gwendoline Philippe took another step in her career. She left Le Mans to join the Olympic national group. « I targeted a World title at Samurai 2000, why not targeting the Olympics at the Pole France ? I had to discover something different. It could only bring me more to train with the national coaches and the world Karate elite. Because the girls of the Senior French team, this is just huge ! ».

« I LAUNCH MY LEGS INSTINCTIVELY »

Especially for her ! When she was younger, she was a fan of Alexandra Recchia. She today trains with her. At 12 years old, she was among the assistance of Paris-Bercy to support Lucie Ignace and see her become World champion. « Thats pretty odd but also fun to have them today as training partners », she smiles.

Lucie Ignace is also one of her main opponents in the -61 kg division, with Leila Heurtault, her four years’ elder with whom she grew up at the Samurai 2000. Is this situation difficult to manage for the young champion ? « On the mat, I consider Leila or Lucie as competitors, as well as an Italian one or whatever. But, outside the mat, it’s totally different. I appreciate them. I lived with Leila for quite some time and this year, I live with Lucie.

I do not consider them as direct opponents. If I give my best and I am not strong enough, it will not be because of them. It will be because of me. If I'm strong enough and I have the level to get there, I will get there. I only focus on me. I am doing my thing and we will see what happens ». Her thing, as we well understood, is win and, if possible, with the good manner, with her legs. And yet… « I train a lot my fist techniques but, in fact, I launch my legs instinctively in competition. It's my thing. I like all the kicks, middle, high, the Ura, the Mawashi, the Yoko... Everything ! ».

Currently ranked World n°8 (Lucie Ignace is 4th and Leila Heurtault 14th), Gwendoline Philippe is surprised by the precocity of her current excellent results. « I may have surprised some people, but I also surprised myself. I train to win of course, but we are on a long-term work. I did not dare to believe it at first. Everything we had set worked. It came only by work and will. I may have a star above my head », she laughs. « I hope this is just the beginning. I am young and I do not have all the ropes yet. I am able to do very strong things, my determination can make me win but ... To want to do a lot, we sometimes do too much and that is what scares me. My true opponent is myself ».

« MY GOAL, THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS »

With the Rabat Premier League coming up, for which she is now considered as one of the favorites for the final victory, Gwendoline Philippe is eager to fight. « Before, we had a competition every two to three months. We sometimes forgot why we were training. Each days were quite similar. Now, we have a tournament every two weeks. There is no time to breathe, to think. We go beyond ourselves all the time. I am having alot of fun ! ».

Her main goals are some long term ones but, considering her speed to assert herself, these could well be accelerated. The 2018 Worlds (November 6th-11th, in Madrid) belong to her targets. « The European Championships are not a priority in the sense that, for the Olympics, it will not bring me a lot of points. And the level is lower than in the Premier League, where the 50 World bests are present. My goal is first to get my individual selection at the World Championships, which will be very important for the Olympic Games’ qualification. Of course, I must also succeed in the Premier League and, first of all, perform in Rabat. It would be nice to have a third final in a row ». Wouldn’t it ?