Who hasn’t heard of Brian Joubert? Presumably, no one. At 22, he has won nearly everything. 2004 European Champion, double World Vice-champion and multiple French champion, he only lacks the two supreme titles, the World Championships which he will be participating in next March in Tokyo, and the Olympic Games. However, few people know about his recently acquired coach, Jean Christophe Simond. As part of the feature on sportspeople from the Azure region who will make an impact in 2007, the native of Nice agreed to discuss his career and his prodigy and protégé’s upcoming season.
Nice-Premium: Let’s talk about your career, if you don’t mind. You won eight consecutive French championships over nine years (one year you didn’t participate). What do you remember from that period?
Jean-Christophe Simond: A lot of things. I was very happy to experience that because it allowed me to meet many interesting people and to travel the world as well. But it’s true that my fondest memory was still the European championships in Lyon in 1982, although I didn’t win the title. I got to experience fantastic moments, participating in the Olympics three times. I regret nothing.
N-P: Three times at the Olympics, where you placed 15th, 7th, and 6th. Is that competition a great experience?
J-C. S.: Yes, because it’s a chance to mingle with other athletes that we don’t usually live with—skiers, cross-country skiers, ski jumpers. It’s grand. The Games occur once every four years, unlike a European championship or the World Championships.
N-P: Today, French skating is dominated by one man, Brian Joubert. You’ve been his coach since September. How did you come to this situation?
J-C. S.: It was somewhat by chance. I was free after being kindly let go by the management of the Nice club, available for work. So Brian, with whom I had the opportunity to work during summer camps or national team gatherings when I was the national assistant coach, and I quickly agreed on a collaboration.
N-P: Brian is undefeated early in the season. He has won everything.
J-C. S.: Yes, he won with style too. He achieved extraordinary performances, notably at the Russia Cup where he landed three quadruple jumps in one program. This is unprecedented at the European level and achieved only twice in the history of skating, but it was especially in another era where spins had less value.
N-P: At the Trophée Bompard, you criticized the scoring system.
J-C. S.: No, I didn’t criticize it. I just regretted the change in score for the same difficulty in the short program. By dissecting Brian’s performance on the VCR, the first two elements could be downgraded, so I say nothing. However, for the third, I don’t have an answer.
N-P: The Grand Prix final that took place in St. Petersburg also saw Brian’s victory. Explain to us how the skaters qualify for this final.
J-C. S.: There are six Grand Prix in the season (Russian Cup, NHK, Trophée Bompard, Skate Canada, Trophée de Chine, and Skate America NDLR). The winner earns 15 points, the second place earns 12, the third 10. Each skater must participate in at least two Grand Prix, and we take the best two results for each. The top six qualify for the final, logically the world’s best six from the start of the season. It’s just missing Stéphane Lambiel who only participated at the Skate America.
N-P: The two major championships are approaching. The goal is the double?
J-C. S.: Obviously. It’s coming up very soon, so it’s going to be very tough to manage for the European championships because the preparation period will be very short. The season restart took place on January 5 after a necessary break.
N-P: 2010, it’s the Vancouver Games. Are you thinking of experiencing it with him?
J-C. S.: It’s far off but we think about it. Our agreement is based on going up to there. It’s in 3 seasons, we will be in the preparation period for the competition at that time. However, what he secures today won’t need to be sought after later, so I hope he wins as many trophies as possible by then.
N-P: Brian has been a European champion but never a world champion. Is the focus particularly on Tokyo?
J-C. S.: Not because at the European championships, he’ll face the current titleholder and the world’s best skater, Stéphane Lambiel (the Swiss was injured before the competition and had to withdraw. Following this announcement Jean-Christophe Simond explains that Brian is very disappointed but now he must battle against himself NDLR). At the World Championships, he will also face the Japanese. Any other goals? None.
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