"There are admirations that make you small and admirations that make you grow."

Athlete Anna Comet met her husband twenty years ago, when they were both alpine ski coaches. Their love story began as a great friendship. "We were two people who understood each other very well from the start. We explained a lot of things to each other and went everywhere together. You're really good friends until one day you realize you want to be with that person more than with any of your other friends. When this happens to you repeatedly, you start to think that maybe there's something very beautiful about you," says Comet.

Getting to know each other deeply as friends, she adds, was interesting because "we didn't have to play any characters or try to like each other; each of us already knew what the other was like, and everything was simple and natural." Their first kiss was on New Year's Eve, and they haven't been apart since.

The athlete is clear that the key to a happy love is respect and admiration. "I feel great admiration for him, and he for me. There are admirations that make you small, and admiration that make you grow," says Comet, who feels that both she and Marc have grown very close together. "It's nice to know you have someone by your side you can count on, and we still have fun together. We share many values. Especially now that we're parents, I see how important it is to share values. It's very difficult to raise someone if you don't have a shared foundation."

Comet believes that love is something you learn. "I've learned to love by seeing how I've been loved. Everyone has their own way of loving, and I've paid close attention to which ones I've liked to try to transmit the same to the people I love."

With Marc, she says, it took them a while to have children, and that has allowed them to live many adventures: in Peru, Nepal, Costa Rica, and the United States. Now, the adventure, Comet explains, is how to make motherhood compatible with elite sport. "Getting back in shape after pregnancy is a challenge. Three weeks after giving birth, I started training. I have a lot of energy, but by 9 p.m., I'm no longer a person," she confesses with a smile.