Lisa Barbelin

At only 9 years old, Lisa Barbelin was already shooting her first arrows. Twelve years later, she flew to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. This well-trained chemistry student is doing all she can to repeat the feat and hit the bull's-eye at the Paris 2024 Games.

Where did your passion for archery come from?
Lisa Barbelin: I started archery when I was 9 years old. My uncle used to do it and one day he said to me: "Come on, let's try it together.” I loved it from the outset, it was love at first sight!

What are you currently studying?
L.B. : I’m in my third year of a chemistry degree at Sorbonne University. I chose the course because it was a subject I really enjoyed in high school. So I wanted to continue with it. I like to think that chemistry can save the world. I want to make a contribution in some way.

How do you balance your studies with high-level sports?
L.B.: It's not easy... I train from 8.30 am to 6 pm. When I have classes, it cuts into my preparation time so I have to catch up later, in the evening for example. It's quite complicated, but it mostly just requires a lot of organization.

How is Sorbonne University supporting you in this project?
L.B.: Sorbonne University is really helping. I’ve been lucky enough to benefit from the Passport for the Olympic Games scholarship program set up by the Sorbonne University Foundation and supported by Crédit Agricole d'Ile-de-France Mécénat. My teachers are all very understanding and help me to catch up with classes when I miss an ongoing assignment or an exam because I'm competing. They’re great, because they always find a solution: either I catch up on course work once I have my competition or later, or they prepare a special exam paper for me. There’s a lot of mutual trust!

The Paris Olympic Games are just around the corner. How are you preparing for it?
L.B. : I prepare every day with the whole archery team. There are six women and six men who train intensively every day at the INSEP  ( The French National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance) in Paris. I don’t know the exact number of hours, but it's about 2,000 arrows a week. Training for the Paris Olympics also means a lot of training in France and abroad with the whole team to ensure the team is the best; it means winning competitions to show that we are there, that the French archery team can win these games.

What are your goals for the Olympics?
L.B.: It's simple: to win in all three categories - individual, team and mixed. I’m so keen to bring home a medal.

Do you have a lucky object that you bring to competitions?
L.B.: I always have a four-leaf clover bookmark in a book given to me by my cousin, and I also wear a necklace given to me by my mom and my sisters. My family’s the most important thing in my life... My dad, for example, always sends me the same message to encourage me before each competition; it really gives me a boost. In fact, my family is my lucky charm.

Is there a ritual you do before each competition?
L.B. : Yes, I get up earlier to get my hair done and my make-up done well, which gives me confidence. I need to feel pretty to perform.

What is your most vivid memory of a competition?
L.B.: It was in 2021, on the night of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Turkey. That's when I won my place at the Tokyo Games. I’ll remember calling my parents to tell them the news for the rest of my life. Just pressing the call button brought tears to my eyes! When I said "Dad, Mom, I'm going to the Olympics", I couldn't contain my emotion any longer... It will always be engraved in my mind, it's my most beautiful memory.
In fact, for me, sports is not only about winning, but all the emotions, all the memories anchored in the brain and in the heart that make us who we are, that build us.

Photographie © François Le Guen