Tifany HUOT MARCHAND

LIFE AFTER SHORT TRACK
Aspires to work as a school teacher once her sporting career is over. "I am able to do my sport and study thanks to a distance learning programme at the University of Grenoble that allows me not to go to class and to condense everything during the off-season. I know very well that making a living from my sport is complicated. It is hard to be an athlete who studies alongside preparing for the Games. We ask ourselves thousands of questions in case of injuries, for example." (lesportaufeminin.fr, 01 Aug 2020)

RAISING THE PROFILE OF THE SPORT
Keen to promote short track in France, especially as she is not professional and relies on funding from her club's city of Belfort. "Short-track is a very confidential sport in France, especially since it is a sport that receives very little media coverage, broadcast on TV once every four years. We are amateur athletes. We spend a lot of time training but we are not paid. We don't have a sponsor to fund us so it's really complicated at this level. I am fortunate to be helped by the city of Belfort which supports me but otherwise, I have no remuneration.

"It's frustrating. I would just like my discipline to be recognised more than to be paid, even if it is obvious that it would be easier on a daily basis and that our objectives would be easier to achieve. In France, it is the same situation for women and for men. No one is paid. In many countries, short track skaters are paid. France is one of the only ones where that is not the case." (lesportaufeminin.fr, 01 Aug 2020)

FUNDRAISING EFFORTS
Set up a crowdfunding campaign on Ulele for her Olympic preparations before Beijing. She asked for 3,000 Euro and received over 4,000. "I need more, but this is huge! Apart from the support of Belfort, I have almost no help. Some comes from the federation through contracts, but, apart from that, I have no sponsor to finance me.

"I'm going to be careful to spend the money where it's needed, I'm really meticulous about that. It will be used to buy blades, for example, because our equipment in short-track, is relatively expensive. The French Federation takes care of my travel, but I also need to finance personal travel. Training camps abroad are my responsibility." (ablock.fr, 07 Dec 2020)

MENTAL HEALTH
The year after the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, she struggled with depression. "I started to work with a psychologist, who is also a mental health trainer because I didn't want to stop short track. It was difficult. I was not selected for the World Cup, which had not happened since 2015. Following that, I managed to come back and qualify for the European Championships. It was there that I became European silver medallist and I was very proud of the progress I had made. It released something, like a trigger, and I decided to continue to work with a psychologist." (lesportaufeminin.fr, 01 Aug 2020)

© Data by Sports Data Warehouse

European champion in 3000m relay in 2021. European silver medallist in 1000m and bronze medallist in 3000m relay in 2019 and 2018 respectively.

Four-time World Cup bronze medallist.