The bar will be set very high for the Monegasque gymnast competing in the European Championships (April 21-25): finishing in the top two to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games.
“I’m not going to invent anything; I’m going there to do what I know how to do.” Kevin Crovetto (28 years old) acknowledges that the bar will be very high at the European Gymnastics Championships (April 21-25): “I am determined. But I am aware that it will not be easy at all.”
Finishing in the top two to secure direct qualification for the Tokyo Games will be the – difficult – mission of the Principality’s representative in Basel (Switzerland), in the all-around competition. Six apparatuses are on the program: floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bar (his favorite discipline). With the hope of a second Olympic participation after Rio in 2016. “It was unique. The fervor of the Brazilian people around this event was really very strong.”
Since then, physical setbacks – including two operations on the same shoulder – have not allowed him to fully express himself, as was the case at the World Championships in Stuttgart in 2019, where he thus missed the opportunity to qualify directly for the Games: “I wasn’t at 100%, I was still a bit weakened.” Not the type to give up, the high-level athlete “red and white” has never thrown in the towel, under the guidance of Thierry Aymes, his coach, training 25 to 30 hours a week.
In Basel, the Monegasque gymnast will cross paths with a certain Julien Gobaux, at the Pôle France in Antibes but also registered with the Etoile de Monaco (“I have been training with him since 2006.”), also seeking an Olympic qualification. Like other athletes, the Covid-19 crisis forced Kevin Crovetto to a sudden stop in competitions for over a year. The end of March marked a bright spot as he participated, with the Etoile de Monaco, in the Top 12 final in Montceau-les-Mines (Etoile ranked 5th). “After more than a year with nothing, getting back into competition and regaining my bearings, three weeks before the European Championships, felt good. I no longer knew those adrenaline sensations.”
If he does not manage to qualify directly for the Games, Kevin Crovetto could possibly receive an invitation to Tokyo, but nothing is certain, far from it. The Monegasque gymnast is also looking ahead to the longer term, with the prospect of Paris 2024. “I feel good. I want to embark on a new cycle.”
