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Tony Estanguet: "There should be no excuse not to play sports"

2021-01-31T18:01:57.114Z


On the occasion of the Olympic and Paralympic week which will take place from February 1 to February 5, the president of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee confided to Figaro his desire to fight against sedentary lifestyle, of young and old alike.


Tony, what goal are you pursuing with this Olympic and Paralympic week?


Tony Estanguet:

Beyond the organization of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Paris 2024 also wishes to contribute to a major challenge for our society which is to fight against sedentary lifestyle.

We realize today that the statistics are not good.

The World Health Organization (WHO) draws up a worrying observation, which tells us that while young people should be physically exerting themselves at least one hour a day, 80% do not.

The WHO also claims that in 40 years, young people have lost a quarter of their cardiovascular capacity.

All this is cold in the back.

We are facing a potential public health crisis with one in five young people suffering from obesity.

When we also know that a sedentary lifestyle is a direct mortality factor ... In short, the observation is serious.

What levers of action do you have to fight against this sedentary lifestyle?


We believe, with humility, that a project like ours can contribute to solutions.

Relatively simple and easy solutions, which first of all require collective awareness and an educational message.

The human species must move to stay alive, and sometimes some forget it.

People easily adhere to the idea that sport is good for health, but without thinking that, on the contrary, not doing it has a directly negative impact with dramatic consequences.

This Olympic and Paralympic week will include 2,300 establishments and 450,000 participating students, even if given the health situation, we are still waiting to know exactly in what context this can take place.

With a simple measure: perform 30 minutes of physical activity per day in school.

And we tell ourselves that children can be prescribers to their parents or their grandparents.

Because it is at all ages of life that we must fight against a sedentary lifestyle.

"One of the current lessons of this crisis is that those who resist this virus best are healthy people"

Is this message even more important, but also more difficult, to get across with the current health crisis and this litany of movement restrictions such as containment and re-containment?


I think it is actually even more important.

One of the current lessons of this crisis is that those who are most resistant to this virus are healthy people, who are not overweight.

We consider this message to be even more decisive and we really need this awareness that sport must be every day.

30 minutes for adults and an hour for children is not a lot.

Many people spend hours in front of a screen every day, for their work but not only… Likewise, the generalization of teleworking prevents some from spending 30 minutes or an hour in transport each day.

Saved time that they could use to perform fairly simple physical activities.

It is not a question of imagining oneself as a high level athlete, but simply of walking, of mobilizing one's body, some stretching… Just a gradual recovery of one's body.

This health crisis should encourage us to put in place solutions that allow us to take better care of our health.

A possible very tight re-containment, with the closure of schools, do you worry about this fight against sedentary lifestyle?


I have a habit of constantly adapting, and I think that whatever the context, whether it is at school or at home, there are solutions to devote time to physical activity.

We have developed content to serve as inspiration, which is available on the Paris2024 digital platform.

There are a whole bunch of examples of how you can move around for 30 minutes.

You don't have to have a sports facility or even a garden to move your body.

Obviously in some cases it is easier, but there are always solutions to do a little physical exercise every day.

And for the children, it is very important, maybe even more in times of confinement.

The fact that they are exerting themselves will make them eat better and sleep better.

For their well-being, it is vital.

Even if health measures mean that we must be re-defined, there must be no excuse not to play sports.

"I think that our health depends first of all on us, and that it is a mistake to think that it depends absolutely on organizations, policies ..." 

In terms of high-level sport, the idea is developing of a risk of seeing a generation sacrificed, in particular with the absence of competitions for young people aged 14 to 16.

Do you share this fear?


We all share the concern.

We can see that our lives are in turmoil right now, and we are living through an unprecedented period that prompts us to question ourselves.

But I still want to convey the message that it is possible to adapt, even if I am well placed to measure the difficulties in certain sports.

I come from canoeing and if you no longer have the right to access infrastructure and rivers, it is very complicated.

But that should not prevent you from continuing to practice an activity to keep in shape, to do sheathing ... Of course, this is not ideal but it is important that everyone find solutions to adapt to this difficult context. .

Do you think that if you had experienced a period like this when you were 15-16, you would still have become the three-time Olympic champion that you were?


It's impossible to say.

I have never experienced this (smile).

What I know is that young people today also have resources and that they have a very strong ability to adapt.

I also think that a top athlete should be able to train whatever the conditions.

They need to have that champion mind to be patient and come back with even more desire and determination.

Do you have a particular view of Esport, which has developed a lot with confinement?


It is indeed a booming phenomenon, and it must be welcomed positively.

I am very happy that the young people are having fun with Esport.

After that, what we are saying is that in addition, it is essential to keep a physical activity.

I have the impression that this is a given that is well taken into consideration in this sector.

The two should not be antagonistic but on the contrary complementary.

I have had the chance to develop myself thanks to sport and I know what I owe to it.

I want the young generation to be in good health and I believe that Paris 2024 must be a contributor to concern itself with the health of children, and not just them for that matter.

Do you think that you have heard enough about this issue of sedentary lifestyle by the government?

We sometimes have the feeling that to fight against this pandemic, decisions are taken without necessarily measuring the consequences in the medium and long term ...


I believe that everyone is in his role.

The government is facing a major health crisis, it is its role to find the best strategy to fight against the virus.

If the best weapon today in the face of this virus is containment, then we have to accept it.

I don't have to judge this.

Now, I think that our health depends first of all on us, and that it is a mistake to think that it depends absolutely on organizations, policies… To play sport every day, it costs nothing because it is not mandatory to register in a room or other to exercise.  

Read also

  • Why Paris 2024 crosses the ring road to settle in Saint-Denis

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-01-31

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