“Olympic Design”, a series from “Le Monde”
During the first six months of 2024, The world follows French sportsmen and women who will participate in the next Olympic Games (from July 26 to August 11) or Paralympic Games (from August 28 to September 8). Through reports, portraits and interviews, we will tell you how these athletes prepare for what is, for them, the meeting of a lifetime. You will also have the opportunity to interact directly with them during chats organized on Lemonde.fr. In a world where photography is often king, we have chosen to call on designers to illustrate this series of articles.
“Welcome to Vent-sur-Marne! » At the beginning of January when the Moscow-Paris spreads its polar air over France, the winter sun timidly awakens the nautical stadium of Vaires-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne), thus renamed by its zygomatic residents, them, already warmed up. Air temperature? − 3°C. Water temperature? Around 5°C. A priori, a time not to put a kayaker outside.
But the Games are well worth it. A little less than two hundred days before the start of the Summer Olympic Games (July 26 to August 11), skipping training is not an option for Titouan Castryck. At 19, the youngest member of the French kayak team is preparing to make his Olympic debut, selected in slalom and kayak cross, an event which will make its debut at Paris 2024.
Unlike classic slalom, the four paddlers set off at the same time by sliding down a ramp more than 2 meters above the water. Along the course, competitors must negotiate buoys going downhill (green) or against the flow (red), which they can touch without incurring a penalty. The first to cross the finish line wins.
Tame the whitewater pool
This telegenic race is precisely on the menu of the morning for Titouan Castryck, his compatriots Anatole Delassus and Gaël Adisson, and their hosts of the day: the mixed team from Great Britain is in training to tame the white water basin where the race will take place the Olympic canoe-kayak events. “Already, it motivates you to go out on the water, and what’s more, they are super good, we don’t have time to cool down”enjoy Titouan Castryck, his hands buried in sleeves attached to his paddles.
Objective of the session: “Multiply confrontation situations and work on “stop” techniques [les portes qu’on remonte dans le sens contraire du courant] in a duel, because that’s often where it’s played out in competition and where you can get overtaken”explains his trainer, Jonas Turmeau, wrapped up in his down jacket.
With his cyan blue boat launched three days earlier, his colt is jostling with Etienne Chappell, specialist in the event and rising star of English kayaking. Master the attack, then the defense; the two rookies alternate racing situations. Since contact is authorized, beware of capsizes. In the middle of the whirlpools, the “pots” in their jargon, a stroke of the paddle knocks out the five-time world champion Mallory Franklin: the young woman is left with a small bath in ice water, head first, but the skirmish ( the technique for righting the boat) is mastered quickly and well done.
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