The specialist of the 3000 m steeplechase, which risks four years of suspension, claims to have been doped without his knowledge by his mother's companion, Alain Flaccus, jealous of his relationship with the former doctor of the France team Jean-Michel Serra . Another incredible episode in a tragic personal story, the daughter of the founder Jacky Boxberger explaining having been sexually assaulted by Mr. Flaccus, then his trainer, when she was a minor.
What state of mind are you in?
Ophélie Claude-Boxberger: It took a long time to wait with confinement. Everything has been delayed, justice too. I train at best. I found a good level fairly quickly. I went through several phases, first to tell myself that what was happening to me was not normal, then the anger.
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What do you expect from your appearance before the sanctions commission?
The discontinuance of proceedings. One has the impression that there is no presumption of innocence; when we receive the notification of the positive control (November 4, 2019 for a control on September 18, Editor's note) we are already guilty. We had however advanced with Oclaesp (Central Office for the fight against damage to the environment and public health, gendarmerie service which conducts its own investigation), we knew where it came from, the AFLD (Agence French anti-doping agency) did not take it into account. It is a shame that the AFLD does not work with Oclaesp. One has the impression that I am guilty of everything, responsible for bringing this man (Alain Flaccus) back into my life, that he did nothing. What do they believe? It is not that simple.
"My life is like that, it may be sad, things have happened to me ..."
What feedback have you had from the athletic community in the past few months?
In this case, I felt very supported by people who knew me well. These people know that I am a hard worker, I did not come from nowhere. I have always been one of the best French women. However, many people may have been jealous, resentful and went wild on social networks. At first I answered, but there was even more hatred. For example, girls who were my younger opponents were able to write "we always knew (...) because of her I missed a high-level career". Whatever. It hurts.
You have exposed yourself a lot in recent months ...
With this case I exposed my private life, it is in particular for that that I want to file a complaint against Alain Flaccus for rape (non prescribed facts which would date from about fifteen 'years, denied by M. Flaccus). I don't want to pay for everything, I paid enough like that with her sexual assaults. I don't want to lose my athletic career, that's almost all I have left. It's so hard that all my work is questioned, I trained hard, I paid attention to everything, nutrition ... When I think of all the sacrifices ... It makes me angry. In addition I do not live in athletics, I am a teacher of EPS TZR (holder on replacement area) at 70%. I never had any problems with my students, they are proud to be coached by an athlete. I wonder, "when will it stop?" My life is like that, it may be sad, things happened to me ... People jokingly say that it's like a series. But people are talking about me there.
"My long-standing goal is to finish in 2024 at the Marathon Games, as my father did in Los Angeles in 1984"
Your relationship with Dr. Serra, since fired by the federation, has also been much commented ...
It is misunderstood that an athlete can be in a relationship with a doctor. After the revelations about our relationship (in June 2019), the nightmare continued at the Doha Worlds (between September and October 2019). People from the technical department were spying on us, trying to take pictures of us. We could no longer live our relationship.
How do you plan your career?
My long-standing goal is to finish in 2024 at the Marathon Games, as my father did in Los Angeles in 1984 (42nd). I wanted to finish on the track in Tokyo and then switch to the road.
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