BOULAZAC (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Celine Dumerc could barely have had a more memorable experience the last time she performed on the world stage and the French ace is determined to keep smiling at the FIBA World Championship for Women.

Anyone who has watched the playmaker during the last couple of seasons will have noticed Dumerc playing with renewed vigour and enjoying herself on the court like never before.

While finding some home comfort back in Bourges has been a contributory factor, the 32-year-old confessed that her dazzling time at London 2012 en-route to an Olympic silver medal injected extra verve into her game.

"In London, I had the opportunity to live great moments, both individually and collectively," she recalled.

"So now everything  that's going on in my life is a bonus and I take this with a big smile, because I realise how lucky I am in terms of what I’ve done.

"I just want to continue to enjoy being on the court."

Interestingly, Dumerc will only be one of a small and elite handful of survivors from the team that reached the podium in the British capital. Despite being only two years ago, more than half of the Olympic roster will be absent when France step out in Ankara.

"That's right and it makes you realise that time goes very fast," mused Dumerc.

"London seems like only yesterday, but the current team changed a lot.

"However, I think it is the same for every team except for the USA and we knew that it was a cycle for us because we had prepared for that particular Olympic goal since 2008.

"It’s actually quite natural and not too shocking, because you could say it will be more or less the same as today - being with a group of players who are ultimately preparing for the next Olympics in Rio."

One of the big questions of course is whether Dumerc herself will complete this current four-year Olympic cycle and tread the boards in Brazil - assuming of course that France subsequently punch their ticket.

"I consider this year after year,” she declared.

"For sure I want to continue to Rio, but that’s not guaranteed.

"As I said, time passes very fast. If I have to give a date (of retirement), it will be Rio with the national team.

"You make this kind of decision pretty naturally, except in the case of getting an injury."

Dumerc also recently showed that no matter your age and even if you have illuminated an Olympic stage, it is never too late to enrich your skills and experiences on the floor, having just returned from her rookie campaign in the WNBA with the Atlanta Dream.

"The WNBA was awesome - whether the basketball itself or just daily life," she revealed.

"I don't regret trying this experience in the USA, because life in America is always very interesting and there are lots of facilities."

Meanwhile, when it comes to the FIBA World Championship for Women, Dumerc has mixed experiences, having twice reached the Quarter-Finals with her country.

"I remember Brazil in 2006 when we finished in fifth place and this was a very good place for France,” she claimed.

"I remember that competition in particular since I was young - although now it seems so far away!

"The Quarter-Final against Spain the last time in the Czech Republic was not such a good memory and one that I don’t want to talk, or even think about."

But rather than looking backwards, Dumerc is trying to focus all of her attention on her third FIBA World Championship for Women appearance - starting with a mouth-watering curtain raiser against the hosts.

"I am especially looking forward to playing Turkey because it will be the first game of the tournament.

"It is also a very short tournament with a different competition format and so we'll get directly into the competition and I think that is a good thing.

"We know the strengths of the Turkish team and they will play at home, so they will be hard to play against.

"It will be a good test for us, to see if we are ready - but it's not an elimination match as there will be two others to win after.

"In  Turkey, the goal is to establish a group of players in the national team," continued the veteran.

"We started with a group of 20 players and it's a long-term project.

"But I still expect a lot of intensity and freshness, because we want to go as far as possible.

"Whatever we do, it will give us some experiences for these next years and especially for EuroBasket in 2015, which could qualify us directly for Rio or for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament."

Dumerc and her colleagues will now play Japan and Serbia in their latest preparation tournament in Boulazac.

FIBA