The only French world champion in exercise athletics will be one of the great figures of the Paris Olympics in 2024. At the end of his season, the decathlonian is expressed, in particular, on the Boycott issue From the world of football to Qatar, on the responsibility of athletes and the Place du Sport in France.
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At 30, Kevin Mayer will target gold at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. Twelve years after his first Olympic participation, the decathlonian, world record holder and world champion in Eugene (United States) on July 24 , is expressed on the difficulties of tricolor athletics, on the role of the sportsman and on the Place du Sport in France.
You have won a second title of world champion in Eugene, the sole medal of Blue. But, collectively, French athletics struggles to get out of the slump. What do you think?
I have no influence on the results of others. I love the state of mind as a French team, and when we say that there are problems other than the results, I do not see them. I reread press articles published before the 2003 Paris Worlds [8 medals, including 3 in gold], it was the disaster. To vibrate in good times, it also takes bad. If we are always at the top, could we experience exploits? Good results would only be normality.
as they are in American athletics?
We are not American athletics, but we are not the American sports system either. We do not push children to have the spirit of winning. They are pushed, for example, to play sports for health. I am not against that, but hope for medals with this state of mind, it’s complicated. When do we learn the spirit of fighting spirit and the desire to surpass themselves to seek medals?
The French Athletics Federation has gone through a governance crisis. In addition, Renaud Lavillenie told the “world” that, according to him, it was already too late to form an excellent generation for 2024. Do you share this observation?
I agree, but there are problems everywhere. Just look at what’s going on at the French Football Federation right now. As soon as there are people with ego, there are conflicts. We pay attention to problems when there are good results. And when bad occurs, they are amplified. The performance of the athlete goes through his preparation and his ability to surround himself well. The role of the federation is much more secondary, for me, than in a team sport.
However, some say that, without a good federal functioning, athletes cannot shine.
If everyone is benevolent towards the other, I think it can create a state of mind that helps individual performance. When I see my friends in the stands when they have competition the next day, it transcends me. And they are still there. The atmosphere between athletes is good.
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