Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland talks about being in Paris ready to make her third appearance in the women’s Olympic golf competition at Le Golf National, starting on Wednesday.
“I’m super, super stoked. This is something I was always looking forward to and one of my big goals for this season. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything in the whole world.
I think the Olympics are the epitome of sports and the coolest thing you can experience as an athlete. Just to be associated with it is incredible and I’m super excited.
We just had an absolute blast at the Opening Ceremony. Sharing the experience with the rest of the Swiss delegation was super special. We would scream any time we saw a Swiss flag in the crowds and do “Ole, ole, ole!”
I screamed so much I had no more voice and I was soaking wet at the end. It was just a blast and so unique to be on the River Seine and to go to Trocadero and have the whole show and Celine Dion at the end. It was epic. Doing an Opening Ceremony at the Olympics is an all-time personal highlight and something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
It was definitely very different from 2016. When you enter a stadium you have a better perception of the crowd, because you enter this huge space and you have all the streams of light. This was very unique and hard to compare because it was so different. I don’t think there will ever be another Opening Ceremony like Paris 2024.
I’m good friends with Katie Ledecky: she’s the coolest person I know at the Olympics. (seven-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer). I got to have lunch with her the other day. She’s a really good friend from Stanford.
She’s so humble and so fricking good at what she does. When I’m with her she’s just a normal person and incredible human being. She’s the epitome of an Olympian.
I asked her what she thinks about when she swims and she said she tries to focus on rhythm and think about a song and try to enjoy it. She’s very low key and grounded, which is refreshing to see.
I only stayed in the Olympic Village for one night, but it’s still super buzzy and super hectic. It’s an incredible experience but it’s also nice to get away from it and focus on competition.
You see all the famous athletes, like Rafa Nadal, and all sorts of crazy types of bodies. I think you see every body type in the world, from the tallest guys to the tiniest people. Everyone’s wearing their flags. It doesn’t matter what country you come from, or how you look. Everyone is excited to have their flags and there’s a fun Olympic tradition to exchange pins, which is a nice ice breaker. Everyone receives pins from their countries and you exchange. I’ve got quite a few from Rio and Tokyo.
It’s nice to meet a bunch of Swiss athletes I met in 2016 and we call it an Olympic reunion.
I’m very fortunate that my Mum is from Paris. We’ve come here my whole life and we have an apartment 30 minutes from here, just outside the city on the west, and I’ve always practised at St Cloud growing up as well. Paris has always been like a second home for me. I knew with the schedule we were supposed to go back to the US, but Opening Ceremonies were going to fall the week of Canada and I just said, earlier in the season, if I play well, I want to get the whole Olympic experience. In 10 or 30 years maybe I won’t remember a Canadian Open, but I’ll always remember an Olympic experience.
I’m fortunate enough to have a place here and be able to practise. Just watching some of the guys play the course, it’s in incredible shape. The rough is brutal and there are definitely places you don’t want to be in. There were some courses we played this year that were tough. The US Open was set up incredibly hard. Number 12 was the hardest par 3 we have ever played in my entire life. So, when someone says this is severe, my brother reminds me that the US Open was tougher.
My brother is on the bag and my dad is coaching. I am keeping it in the family. They are always there for me and it’s nice to share this together.
In 2016, I qualified out of nowhere, within three months after a crazy streak of good golf. It was so unexpected, I was just thrilled to be there. I had zero expectations. I qualified in 55th so anything more than that was a bonus. Now I have five years of LPGA under my belt, I feel like I’ve improved every year a little bit. I’ve been making my way towards the top of the leaderboard and this year finished second in Thailand. I know I can compete. Every time you turn up at a tournament you have a chance to win it, or win a medal, so I’ll just give my best. Maybe I can contend for a medal. If I don’t, I don’t, but that’s what I’m hoping for.”
