PICKUPS with Roséva Bidois
Roséva Bidois is a French decathlete who has been competing on the world stage for the last four years. The second youngest of seven siblings, she didn't always picture herself as a future decathlete — but coming into track and field through throwing events, she now fully owns all ten. After placing 5th at the international decathlon this year, she's a woman on a mission — not just to podium, but to bring the women's decathlon to the Olympic Games.
How does running make you feel?
It makes me feel confident; I feel powerful—and, above all, capable!
There’s something primal about running—it’s a return to our natural state. And at the same time, it’s a return to childhood, when we used to run all the time. I want to experience these feelings for as long as possible!
Name a woman who inspires you.
As for athletes, there’s a discus thrower whom I admire immensely for her resilience, and I’m lucky enough to train with her and her coach from time to time. Her name is Mélina Robert-Michon. She competed in her first Olympic Games the year I was born (2000), and she’s now preparing for her eighth Games. She embodies the spirit of humility in performance.
In a slightly different field, Lauren Kuntz (the organizer of the Women’s World Decathlon Championships) is a woman who inspires me immensely because she dedicates herself body and soul to a project far greater than herself—one that has profound meaning: bringing the women’s decathlon to the Olympic Games. If that dream ever becomes a reality, she will have played a huge role in making it happen!
What’s something you thought you couldn’t do, but did?
There are so many!
--> Compete in international competitions
--> Compete in the decathlon
--> Be among the world’s best in the decathlon
--> Be supported by sponsors
--> (I can’t even list them all)
I’m living a dream, and I realize how lucky I am to be reaping the rewards of my hard work. I never would have believed I could achieve everything I’m experiencing right now.
What song gets you fired up before a run?
Uprising - Muse
Any competitions on your bucket list?
The biggest event of all: the Olympic Games!
To make that happen, we’ll first have to take my sport all the way there, and I’m deeply convinced that we’ll get there!
How would you celebrate a new PB?
As the attached photos perfectly illustrate (@Mccledon_media), there are often several steps—and very often, they’re the same ones:
1. Wide-eyed as you process the information
2. Clench your fists tight and scream!
3. Raise my arms
4. Jump around like a little kangaroo
5. Give a hug to everyone I love who’s around me at that moment
6. Celebrate with my coach and share my joy with him
7. Ask myself what my next goal is!
You’re at peak difficulty of a workout, race, or event —what one thought keeps you going?
Make yourself proud! So keep going!
Which Hettas are you currently training in?
I use the Alma Speed for my entire warm-up, drills, and speed work without spikes. And for my aerobic and fartlek workouts, I use the Alma Tempo.
After your first decathlon you thought 'never again.' What changed
What's changed is that now I enjoy it. I've learned to embrace the challenge and make it less difficult. Out of the 10 decathlons I've competed in during my career, I've been able to say without fail about the last 5: “Okay, I'm really proud of myself.”
When did you stop thinking of yourself as a thrower and start thinking of yourself as a decathlete?
I’d say this year. During the first three years, depending on the season, I made more progress in certain event categories, so sometimes I was a decathlete specializing in throwing, sometimes in jumping, and sometimes in running. This season was the fourth of my career. When my coach told me last year that it takes three years for a coach to train a decathlete, I thought to myself, “Okay, this year I’ll be a real decathlete” (obviously, we keep learning throughout our entire career!).
That coincided with the moment I accepted that a decathlon is a whole: you have to take the ups and downs, and what matters in the end is the total. You compete in the events one by one, and you tally the scores at the end. This allows me to approach each discipline without any hang-ups: whether it’s my strengths or my weaknesses, I go in knowing that my biggest opponent is myself!
Still, I haven't forgotten where I came from (throwing) and I realize how lucky I am to have learned at an early age to master such technical disciplines as the shot put and the discus throw!
You just finished 5th in the international decathlon this month. Ten events, two days, top five in the world. What's sitting with you right now when you look back at that performance?
My immediate thought is: “Okay—I’m on the right track to achieving my dreams; I’m on the path to elite-level sports.”
Up until now, with my coach, we were laying the first bricks—the foundation—so we were feeling our way a bit. I trust him completely, so my moments of doubt never last long. But now, the foundation is starting to look like a beautiful architectural project. It’s a beautiful house that I want to add lots of extensions to—and why not turn it into a villa? And now, the doubts in my head are much smaller, while my certainties are growing
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