Justine Lemeteyer: "We are considered top athletes in France" - an interview with the World Cup favourite
Tobias Frauen
· 06.11.2024
World Cup Sylt 2024, one of the sunny lull days. We've been keeping a close eye on Justine Lemeteyer for days. Not only because the Frenchwoman has won almost all of the women's foil races so far, but also because she stores and prepares her equipment right in front of the surf stand on the promenade. The 22-year-old is relaxed, always has a smile on her face and has no problems on the water with the algae pudding that slows down many other riders here. When we meet her for the interview, the French women are playing a card game. As Justine is obviously not nearly as successful at this as she is on the race course, she is sitting in the surf tent a short time later.
Top results thanks to mental training
You put in a pretty impressive performance here on Sylt, you seem to be very much in the flow at the moment.
Yes, it went really well, I had good speed and the gybes were good too, both together made the difference. I'm very happy with how the week went!
You are very calm and focussed. Even if you weren't in the lead after the start, you managed one or two perfect gybes and then pulled away from the others.
I think that's the main difference compared to last year. I have gained confidence in myself and in my ability. I've done some things with my dad and my mental coach to help me focus on each race. I have to realise what I can do and that gives me confidence.
What exactly did you do?
Lots of things to get me into race mode, little rituals that I do before the race to get my focus. I have a protocol of what I have to do in the morning, a warm-up programme straight after getting up, cold showers - it's lots of little things like this that help me find focus every time. I've been doing this for almost a year now and it's starting to pay off!
I now know what works for me mentally. But it's really hard to pull it off."
What is the most important key here? Always thinking from race to race?
Yes, definitely! I've had a mental coach for a year and a half and we've worked on lots of little things. For example, I couldn't sleep or eat the night before the event in Japan in 2022. That's not good when you're competing and we found a lot of points... It's very difficult to explain what's going on in my head (laughs). You have to tell yourself to stay calm and relax. It's like physical training, you have to train yourself to do all these things in your head to make it work. I think it's starting to pay off now. Yes, I feel calm and confident - that makes a big difference.
I felt different than usual before Sylt. Normally I'm afraid of doing badly, but I didn't have that feeling, I was just confident that I would do well. I now know what works for me mentally. But it's really hard to pull it off, because in every race you have to put yourself under a bit of pressure, even if I win a lot. It's a new situation where I have to focus on doing well in the next race and not relaxing too much. I have to set myself targets, I want two wins in a row, or I have to win the third race of the day or something like that. It's a difficult game, but it's going well at the moment!
Foil or fin - Justine Lemeteyer is versatile
You're having a very good year, you've already been runner-up in Slalom X!
Yes, I was only fourth in Pozo, my private life was a bit chaotic at the time, so things didn't go so well there. I was all the happier when I came second in Fuerte and finished runner-up. That was a title that really means a lot to me!
So you're obviously strong on both the fin and the foil. Which do you prefer?
I really like both, so I can't decide. I only like fin when there's a lot of wind. It's too slow in light winds, so I'd rather be on the foil (laughs). But both are really fun and I like travelling in several disciplines because it makes it exciting. It's super interesting to switch and have different challenges or train different things. I like doing both!
In light winds, the fin is too slow for me, I'd rather be on the foil!"
What about the technical side, do you try out lots of different set-ups or do you rely on your instincts?
I try out different options, we test the mast in the sail, different luff tensions, the battens.... So yes, I like testing! The foil is the area where we spend the most hours testing, all the shims, the stabiliser, the angle between the fuselage and the board, it takes quite a long time. But it's also super interesting to look for that crucial detail that makes you half a knot faster. You have to like that when you're foil racing (laughs). I'm working with S2Maui on the sails and it's also super interesting to see how we can make the sails faster for next year.
I saw on Instagram that you just spent some time developing on Maui.
Yes, the week before I came to Sylt, I was on Maui to develop the sails for next year. It wasn't the best timing, with the 12 hour time difference I was a bit worried I would be too tired, but in the end it was worth it. I think we did a good job for next year and the event went well too (laughs).
What role does your equipment play? Both you and Johan Søe are on FMX boards and are very dominant at the moment.
Yes, the boards work great, especially for touchdowns. We're not slowed down too much, it keeps the speed up. We had the seaweed problem on Sylt, which caused a lot of touchdowns and I'm pretty sure the board was a big advantage for us!
Have you changed anything on the foil because of the algae?
I rode the whole day with a setup that I never tried in training (laughs). It was all about getting more power on the backwing, so I used smaller front wings so that I could bring the nose of the board up a bit more. That was the biggest challenge. But it was difficult because most of the algae was on the first turn, so you need power. Then on the home straight there was no more algae, so you need the full power of the front wing. But I found the right balance. We arrived the week before the event and had two good sessions where we saw the algae and knew within 20 minutes that we had to put power into the foil.
From Normandy to the top of the world
Can you tell me a bit about your background and how you got into windsurfing?
My parents owned a sailing club when I was born, that's where I grew up. I did a lot of different sports, played handball for a long time, but when I was 13 I had enough of indoor sports and wanted to do outdoor sports, so I came back to windsurfing. I discovered slalom when I was 15 because there was an AFF event in my home town (Association Française de FunBoard, the French national tour, editor's note.) took place. In 2018, my parents said they would give me the money for the first AFF event and I could pay them back if I could find sponsors. So that's what I did! I travelled to Marignane, found sponsors, paid my parents back and started on the AFF tour! I won my first title in 2021 when I became French champion in the youth category. In 2022, I was sponsored by Leclerc, a big supermarket, and they gave me the money to go to the World Cup in Japan. I was runner-up there, then sponsors came - and that's how it started!
Where is your sailing club in France?
I come from the north of France, from Ouistreham in Normandy, the club is called Ocean. It's a bit like Sylt, only less extreme in terms of the shorebreak and the currents. But it's northern Europe, there are waves, there are currents and there are tides...
I had a photo with Marion Mortefon in my room, which really motivated me."
In France, you have very good support from the clubs and associations, right?
Yes, we have the federation and we have an official French team, which gives us some advantages, for example we are recognised as top athletes. We have a coach and a training group, which is really great! My club also supports me a lot, as a top athlete I get a salary every month. I work there when I'm at home and I coach a group of young kids who are taking part in the French championships. So we have good support and I have a lot of personal sponsors who help me pay for the tour. We are really lucky, the AFF is also doing a really good job, we have a Tour that is attractive to young riders and professionals alike. That gave me a lot of encouragement when I was young. I remember the first time I met Marion Mortefon, who is now my toughest rival. I had a photo with Marion from the race, which I put in my room afterwards, and that motivated me a lot. Delphine Cousin also helped me a lot, she's the one who introduced me to S2Maui and FMX. When she stopped, she was asked, do you know a young girl we should help, and she suggested me. In 2022 we were on the podium together, Marion, Delphine and I, that meant a lot to me!
You said that you come from a sailing background, can you bring any of that to surfing?
I only sailed on the small boats at my parents' sailing club. When I was eight years old they put me on a windsurfing board and I loved it from the start, so from then on I've mainly been windsurfing. A bit of techno 293, but I wasn't really good at that, and I also do a bit of iQFOil, but I miss the tactical part.
Would you like to train more intensively and aim for the Olympic Games?
Yes, I train both slalom and iQFOil, and if I see that one day I really have a chance to go to the Olympics, then I would take that chance. But at the moment, the priority is to win the PWA title.
Will Justine Lemeteyer become world champion in Japan?
You're pretty close to the world title this year...
Yes, but we don't have a stringer, so everything is still open. I've heard that Sara Wennekes and Lina Erzen, who won last year, could be back in Japan. That makes it even more exciting because they are both very good. Instead of three, there will be five women fighting at the top, which could be decisive for the ranking. Of course, I have the advantage that I already have two wins, so things are looking pretty good.
What do you expect from Japan?
Japan can be anything, we can have 35 knots or sail at eight knots. Anything is possible there, that's the beauty of it. I mean, we've almost only had strong wind races on the tour this year, so I know that everything works well in strong winds. We'll see what it's like in light winds, but I feel good with the material! It's good to have all the conditions, it would be interesting to see who is the best in lighter winds.
What is your long-term perspective?
I would fight for another title next year, that's for sure! I like life as a pro too much to stop (laughs). I will only ride iQFOil on the side for now, I will only do a few training sessions this winter, but I will continue to focus on the PWA.
When you came out of the water the other day, I saw that you had your glasses on. So you don't ride with contact lenses, you don't have perfect vision on the water?
Yes, but it's a really small correction, but I have to wear it, otherwise I get a headache very quickly. On the water, I might see the gusts a bit more clearly, but I can see the buoys, I can see the gaps, so I'm not sailing blind (laughs). I can do without them on the water, I only have to wear them when I'm feeling tired!
Are you a competitive person in every area?
Yes, I don't like losing (laughs), not even at card games, which I'm really bad at (laughs again).
