One of those choices was deciding not to travel to Puebla for the opening stage of the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup.
Valladont made France’s senior outdoor team for the 19th time ahead of Mexico but, for only the second time in his career – 2025 being the first – the 37-year-old opted to skip the opening stop of the tour, allowing 17-year-old Raphael Armand to take his place.
Aware of when his daughter would be born, the Rio 2016 silver medallist instead focused on Shanghai and the upcoming European Outdoor Championships in Antalya one week later.
Success in recurve men’s team also remains one of his key objectives for the season.
Although he missed Puebla, Valladont did not allow fatherhood to prevent him from building additional preparation before travelling to Yuanshen Sports Centre.
“She was born on a Sunday and on Monday I was back shooting, so there was no rest,” he said. “I was training at the national performance centre, and the hospital was also in Paris, so for a couple of weeks I split my days between the hospital and the centre.”
Valladont explained that before becoming a father he would usually train from 8h30 to 19h00, but in the weeks after his daughter’s birth he divided his time equally between training and the hospital while preparing for Shanghai and the upcoming European Championships.
“The biggest mental adjustment may only come later in the season because I still don’t know whether I will attend additional World Cup stages,” he added.
