Romain Cannone, aged 22, is a member of the French men’s épée team, which just qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after its victory in the World Fencing Championships in Budapest on 23 November. A boarder at INSEP (the French National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance), he is also studying for the MSc in Auditing, Management Accounting and Information Systems at SKEMA’s Paris campus.
“I really appreciate SKEMA’s understanding and support for my dual project of competing as an athlete and studying for a degree. I have been given flexibility with my timetable and my internships, which allows me to devote myself to the preparation and competition. This flexibility and the support of my professors is a real asset. I live and train at INSEP and take the RER A train to get to my lessons at SKEMA’s La Défense campus in Paris! For the moment, I’m dedicating all my efforts to the épée since my challenge from January 2020 is to win one or two individual World Fencing Championships and earn my place at Tokyo 2020 in this discipline too.”
We wish this great champion every success in achieving his upcoming challenges.
Nathalie Sanchez, head of sport at SKEMA, shared her feelings and vision of this programme: “I am always extremely happy when our high-level athlete students perform at both the sporting level and the academic level: this shows a dual commitment to managing very busy and complex careers. I offer Romain my warmest congratulations for his efforts and success. The High-Level Athlete programme is developing from year to year. With the upcoming Paris Olympic Games in 2024, we’re sensing a revived interest from companies for these exceptional programmes, a mutual interest which benefits both the companies and the athletes in training. Today, SKEMA has around thirty high-level athletes on its different campuses, and four students are in the running to compete in the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer!”
To find out more about the High-Level Athlete programme at SKEMA, please contact Nathalie Sanchez.