University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Cécile Canqueteau-Landi
January 11, 2025 | Gymnastics, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
New Georgia gymnastics co-head coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi experienced a lifetime's worth of sights, sounds and emotions in 2024. It was, without question, one of the most memorable years of her life.
Canqueteau-Landi saw her star gymnast, Simone Biles, shine as bright as ever at the Paris Olympics; as the head coach of the Team USA women, she guided the Americans to the gold medal; and Canqueteau-Landi and her husband, Laurent Landi, saw their daughter, Juliette, compete for France in the diving at the Summer Games.
As if all of that wasn't enough, Canqueteau-Landi also embarked on a new chapter in her career, leaving her longtime position at the World Championships Centre in Texas to make her first foray into collegiate coaching. On Sunday, Canqueteau-Landi and co-head coach Ryan Roberts — a most interesting man, himself — will lead the GymDogs into their first competition of 2025, at the Denver Quad Meet in Colorado.
During a recent Quick Chat, Canqueteau-Landi talked about her big 2024, the joy of seeing her daughter on sport's biggest stage, her own experience competing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What has the adjustment to college coaching been like for you?
Canqueteau-Landi: It's been good. I mean, the coaching is the coaching at the end, gymnastics is gymnastics. So, yeah, it's all the meetings that have been a change for me [laughs].
Frierson: Was 2024 one of the most special years of your life? A lot of really interesting and notable things happened for you.
Canqueteau-Landi: I mean, I could have not asked for a better year, that's for sure. Like, for her to have had that dream (to compete in Paris), but being 17, so new to the sport, we didn't think it was possible. So to have all three of us in Paris was pretty, pretty incredible.
Frierson: What was it like to be in the stands watching your daughter compete in the Olympics?
Canqueteau-Landi: Just seeing her so proud and confident, even if she's young and hadn't been diving for very long. The goal was not to medal, it was just to gain some experience. And she truly took that and just enjoyed the moment. ... I think that's the first time I saw her truly enjoy a competition.
My daughter was a gymnast, and then she went to trampoline, and then went back to gymnastics. When COVID hit, she took some time off, played tennis, and then she started diving because a friend of hers was doing diving.
Frierson: She didn't start diving until after COVID?
Canqueteau-Landi: That's why when she told us her goal was to compete in Paris, we were like, maybe you want to set more realistic goals. Like, this seems a little crazy to me, but OK. I think her gymnastics background really helped her.
Frierson: What stands out about your Olympic experience competing in Atlanta in 1996?
Canqueteau-Landi: I think it's all of the experiences with my teammates. And to this day, we still chat almost every day. I don't know, it's something as an athlete that you always want to reach the dream of competing at the Olympic Games. I always loved the U.S., as well, so 1996 in Atlanta, to be at the Olympics with my team and enjoying the entire experience of being in the Olympic Village and seeing the opening and closing ceremonies, it was just unbelievable.
Frierson: Did you plan on going into coaching one day?
Canqueteau-Landi: No, when I retired in 1999, I was like, I'm never coaching, this is not for me. I spent 20 years in a gym and I'm not doing this again. I went to school to become a P.T. (physical therapist), because as a gymnast, of course, you're very familiar with the P.T. I thought it was cool; I want to be involved in sports but I don't want to be coaching.
I was in school getting my degree when my former national team training center called me and they were like, Hey, we think you could be a great coach. I'd been going to the gym once in a while to help out, but I was like, No, I'm not doing that. They said they'd finish paying for my school and I could work part time, so why not? And here I am, 23 years later.
Frierson: You've got your first meet as Georgia's co-head coach coming up soon. Do you think you'll be nervous?
Canqueteau-Landi: I'm more nervous as a coach than I was as an athlete. As an athlete, you can control what you're doing. As a coach, you hope you did enough to get them ready, but not too much.
I thought coaching would be easy because physically, you're not the one flipping. I have developed a lot more respect for my coaches since I've been coaching [laughs]. It's a lot harder than you think.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Canqueteau-Landi: Something I could eat every day? Nutella. And chocolate in general, but I'm very picky with my chocolate.
Frierson: In my experience, a lot of people from Europe look down on most American chocolate, especially Hershey's. And maybe for good reason based on the incredible chocolate I've had in Europe.
Canqueteau-Landi: Hershey's tastes like soap to me, but I've never tried soap. I lived in Texas for a long time, so I love Tex-Mex. I learned how to love that. There was a lot of food that I didn't like when I came here, like anything with cinnamon or pickles. And then nachos — you never find nachos in Europe, but nachos are good.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
New Georgia gymnastics co-head coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi experienced a lifetime's worth of sights, sounds and emotions in 2024. It was, without question, one of the most memorable years of her life.
Canqueteau-Landi saw her star gymnast, Simone Biles, shine as bright as ever at the Paris Olympics; as the head coach of the Team USA women, she guided the Americans to the gold medal; and Canqueteau-Landi and her husband, Laurent Landi, saw their daughter, Juliette, compete for France in the diving at the Summer Games.
As if all of that wasn't enough, Canqueteau-Landi also embarked on a new chapter in her career, leaving her longtime position at the World Championships Centre in Texas to make her first foray into collegiate coaching. On Sunday, Canqueteau-Landi and co-head coach Ryan Roberts — a most interesting man, himself — will lead the GymDogs into their first competition of 2025, at the Denver Quad Meet in Colorado.
During a recent Quick Chat, Canqueteau-Landi talked about her big 2024, the joy of seeing her daughter on sport's biggest stage, her own experience competing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What has the adjustment to college coaching been like for you?
Canqueteau-Landi: It's been good. I mean, the coaching is the coaching at the end, gymnastics is gymnastics. So, yeah, it's all the meetings that have been a change for me [laughs].
Frierson: Was 2024 one of the most special years of your life? A lot of really interesting and notable things happened for you.
Canqueteau-Landi: I mean, I could have not asked for a better year, that's for sure. Like, for her to have had that dream (to compete in Paris), but being 17, so new to the sport, we didn't think it was possible. So to have all three of us in Paris was pretty, pretty incredible.
Frierson: What was it like to be in the stands watching your daughter compete in the Olympics?
Canqueteau-Landi: Just seeing her so proud and confident, even if she's young and hadn't been diving for very long. The goal was not to medal, it was just to gain some experience. And she truly took that and just enjoyed the moment. ... I think that's the first time I saw her truly enjoy a competition.
My daughter was a gymnast, and then she went to trampoline, and then went back to gymnastics. When COVID hit, she took some time off, played tennis, and then she started diving because a friend of hers was doing diving.
Frierson: She didn't start diving until after COVID?
Canqueteau-Landi: That's why when she told us her goal was to compete in Paris, we were like, maybe you want to set more realistic goals. Like, this seems a little crazy to me, but OK. I think her gymnastics background really helped her.
Frierson: What stands out about your Olympic experience competing in Atlanta in 1996?
Canqueteau-Landi: I think it's all of the experiences with my teammates. And to this day, we still chat almost every day. I don't know, it's something as an athlete that you always want to reach the dream of competing at the Olympic Games. I always loved the U.S., as well, so 1996 in Atlanta, to be at the Olympics with my team and enjoying the entire experience of being in the Olympic Village and seeing the opening and closing ceremonies, it was just unbelievable.
Frierson: Did you plan on going into coaching one day?
Canqueteau-Landi: No, when I retired in 1999, I was like, I'm never coaching, this is not for me. I spent 20 years in a gym and I'm not doing this again. I went to school to become a P.T. (physical therapist), because as a gymnast, of course, you're very familiar with the P.T. I thought it was cool; I want to be involved in sports but I don't want to be coaching.
I was in school getting my degree when my former national team training center called me and they were like, Hey, we think you could be a great coach. I'd been going to the gym once in a while to help out, but I was like, No, I'm not doing that. They said they'd finish paying for my school and I could work part time, so why not? And here I am, 23 years later.
Frierson: You've got your first meet as Georgia's co-head coach coming up soon. Do you think you'll be nervous?
Canqueteau-Landi: I'm more nervous as a coach than I was as an athlete. As an athlete, you can control what you're doing. As a coach, you hope you did enough to get them ready, but not too much.
I thought coaching would be easy because physically, you're not the one flipping. I have developed a lot more respect for my coaches since I've been coaching [laughs]. It's a lot harder than you think.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Canqueteau-Landi: Something I could eat every day? Nutella. And chocolate in general, but I'm very picky with my chocolate.
Frierson: In my experience, a lot of people from Europe look down on most American chocolate, especially Hershey's. And maybe for good reason based on the incredible chocolate I've had in Europe.
Canqueteau-Landi: Hershey's tastes like soap to me, but I've never tried soap. I lived in Texas for a long time, so I love Tex-Mex. I learned how to love that. There was a lot of food that I didn't like when I came here, like anything with cinnamon or pickles. And then nachos — you never find nachos in Europe, but nachos are good.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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