“There have been several Tessas throughout my career,” says Tessa Worley following the announcement of her retirement

“There have been several Tessas throughout my career“said French skier Tessa Worley, one of the biggest winners in French skiing, on Sunday March 19 at Club info de franceinfo, after the announcement of her retirement at 33 after the giant of the Alpine Ski World Cup finals in Soldeu (Andorra).

franceinfo: We imagine that there were and still are a lot of emotions after your last race. How did it happen ?

Tessa Worley: Today was very exciting. I really wanted to get to the end of my season and my two races. I wanted to stay focused. Today everything tasted a bit peculiar and I tried to be careful to absorb these details because I knew I was experiencing them for the last time. It’s full of little things that, as a 17-year-old, I’ve been so used to doing. It made the day a bit emotionally difficult and staying focused until the end was not easy. However, I am very happy with how the day went.

What did you think about during this last race?

A lot of things! I was torn between thoughts that usually I can have about a competition, to put myself in a concentration zone, so technical thoughts, but sometimes my mind wandered a bit on my last moments. With my technician, with my physiotherapist, with my trainers on the side of the track… So many little things like that, that I tried to remember forever.

How do you manage to stay at the top level for seventeen years, which is pretty incredible in skiing?

I think this longevity is due to my passion for skiing and also my passion for training, to always improve and progress. This process of progress and improvement every day has guided me throughout my career and has allowed me to always look for things to improve. This is what has allowed me to evolve over the seasons. It’s the pleasure I’ve had alongside all these French and foreign champions, all my coaches, my staff… I’ve met many people and it’s been incredible.

I have the impression that in recent years I have lived my seasons with more awareness and presence. I really immersed myself in what was around the competition. I had incredible moments, especially in 2016-2017 with the title of world champion and the crystal ball. Technically and physically I was at the top. For a sportswoman it was truly incredible. Lately everything wasn’t at its best, but I lived all these moments with more serenity and pleasure. There have been several Tessas throughout my career and every moment has been very special.

There were also more difficult moments. do you have any regrets?

No, I have no regrets. There are indeed goals that I failed to achieve, such as the Olympics, but I have no regrets because I really put everything in place to achieve these goals. Some don’t work but that doesn’t mean it changes anything for me. When I put everything in place to achieve these goals, it’s also what makes me proud. The failure of the last Olympics was difficult to digest at the time because I told myself that I would never have this chance again, but I had given everything and took advantage of this beautiful event.

How do you see the rest, after retiring at 33?

We need to get out of this athlete functioning. It may take a few weeks. Every day we live like the best athletes, we eat like the best athletes, we sleep like the best athletes, and you have to step out of it a little bit and realize that you are entering a life where performance is the goal. continuous. Slowly I will try to project myself on other projects but for the moment I don’t have a particular idea. I already want to savor all these moments, take a step back from all these years and soon discover new things.