MICHEL Anais

General
COMPETITIVE BREAK
She had planned to take a one-year break from the sport following the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but the postponement of the Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic allowed her to take time to study physiotherapy while competitions were on hold. "I had planned to take a year to recover. I have been competing at the top level for a very long time, and I haven't really stopped in years. I prioritise my professional training, and go to physiotherapy school. For me, that is ambitious, because it has been a while since I went to school. I didn't want to abruptly stop competing, but take it easy for at least a year to see how my body reacts, give myself time and listen to my body." (byathlete.com, 02 Jul 2020; lanouvellerepublique.fr, 23 Apr 2019)

INSEP
She says the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance [INSEP] in Paris, France, has played a significant role in her career. "I arrived in 2005, at age 17, and I was an intern until I was 21. During this period, INSEP has given me a balance, and made me discover high-performance sport, which is not easy. Those were not easy years as I was building the base of the pyramid. There were some injuries to manage, as well as my studies, with the fact that weightlifting is a tough sport. But it helped me get to know people and to develop myself." (lanouvellerepublique.fr, 23 Apr 2019).

OCCUPATION
In September 2018 she began working as a staff member at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance [INSEP] in Paris, France, as part of an employment scheme for high-performance athletes. She has also worked as a sports coach for children in Blois, France. (Instagram profile, 12 Jun 2021; lanouvellerepublique.fr, 26 Mar 2018, 23 Apr 2019; barbell-bandit.com, 03 Aug 2017; lanouvellerepublique.fr, 20 Apr 2017; Twitter profile, 14 Sep 2018)