The choice may seem unusual, Laurent-Éric Le Lay, sports director of France Télévisions, agrees.
However, the role of consultant for the Tokyo Olympics seems tailor-made for Thierry Marx, Michelin-starred chef at Mandarin Oriental, in Paris.
Popular in France, he has worked in Japan for 30 years: "He is the ideal personality for us," explains the sports boss of the public audiovisual group.
When he talks about Japan, he captivates us.
»Meeting in his workshop in the 11th arrondissement, decorated with samurai armor.
Why did you agree to comment on the Olympics?
THIERRY MARX.
Sport was, for me, the first successful educational framework. If there had not been judo when I arrived at the city of Boullereaux or the city of Bois-l'Abbé
(Editor's note: in Champigny-sur-Marne)
, there was the risk of going here and there according to the stairwells. At school, we are
learning to do
, I'm not very good. Sport shows me something else: to
do to learn
. Through judo, I discover a universe that I completely fantasized about as a teenager: Japan, the ultimate samurai, the life of Miyamoto Musashi (
Editor's note: a renowned samurai from the 17th century)
. Inviting me to the Olympics is a childhood dream. I was in London for the Teddy finale
(Editor's note: Riner)
, I went to Rio.
There, I reach the pinnacle.
It's going to be something extremely moving, in a country that I adore.
These will be a bit special Games ...
Everything is there to make it a historic moment.
There will be a before and an after Covid.
At the beginning, I said to myself:
what is the great Olympic stadium
when there is no audience
?
But I think there is such a global energy going to these Tokyo Games that you couldn't imagine they didn't exist.
It will be the Liberation Games.
What would you like to pass on about Japanese culture?
The homogeneity of a people.
As soon as things have been voted on, everyone follows.
It is not sheep farming, it is really saying:
The nation first
.
Often I am asked:
What could I bring back from Japan?
Civic sense.
In the metro, you turn off your cell phone and you don't speak, you don't bother anyone.
This is the opposite of the scapegoat strategy.
In Japan, we will look for solutions before looking for the culprits.
You practiced judo ...
I still practice.
The older you get, the more mobility you lose.
I defend the idea of practicing judo for a long time.
It brings a lot of self-confidence, helps prevent falls.
I think that Stéphane Nomis, the president of the French Judo Federation, will ensure that we, who are advancing in age, find more and more seasoned clubs to continue to practice seriously, and not necessarily in slippers.
When do you find the time to train?
I get up at 5:45 am. At 6:30 am, I arrive at the Vincennes dojo.
Three days a week I do judo, two days a week muscle building and kendo.
And from time to time, other harsher disciplines
(laughs)
… I won't go into details but yes, wrestling techniques.
I like the martial art for what it represents.
Not a succession of kicks and punches, rather an ability to move forward in life calmly and confidently.
There is nothing mind-numbing.
On the contrary, it is the learning of humility.
Whenever you are on a tatami mat, with people who are less senior, less experienced than you, you still risk taking what is called a box.
It is thanks to judo that you met Thomas Pesquet…
Yes, Thomas came to explain his physical preparation for a black belt college in Inji
(Editor's note: National Judo Institute)
.
It was long before his first trips to space.
I explained to him that we had a research and development laboratory based on the 2050 diet and he came to see us.
He agreed that we make all the festive products that are in the space cabin.
This is the second trip we made for him.
We have an extraordinary relationship.
I had Thomas and Teddy at the table at the same time, it was amazing.
The terraces reopen this Wednesday.
What traces will Covid-19 leave in catering?
He gave the French chefs a big slap. Realize that, when you put under the extinguisher kitchen professionals who, at times, take themselves - I put myself in the lot - for elected officials of the divine, those who make the most profit, it is burger, nugget and pizza industry, while platforms generally sell bad industrial Asian products at low prices… We must retrace a course: how to eat well and cheaply in France? We all asked ourselves the question of masks, vaccines. No one has wondered about the consequences of our diet on our health. But studies show that what we eat has an impact. Cooking follows the same path as sport: pleasure, well-being, health.
