"Paul? Where's Paul? »The voice of Gonzague Rebois, a youtubeur with a million subscribers, resounds on the lawn of the Célestins hotel, in Vichy (Allier), where around thirty young athletes came to attend the Summer School of Sports Stars , from June 27 to 29. Invited to carry out challenges filmed on the cell phone and destined to be posted on Instagram, they follow up on the antics and rolls in dispersed order. Here, surfer Zoé Grospiron, 20, daughter of Edgar, Olympic mogul ski champion, puts a glass of water on her forehead and, without dropping or touching it, lies down in the grass, then gets up. There, it is the rugby player Mathis Galthié, 19, son of Fabien, selector of the XV of France, who gets dizzy by making five turns on himself before aiming and knocking out with a ball oval a bottle of 50 centilitres posed on a table, 10 meters away.
And here comes the turn of the 20-year-old sprinter Paul Tritenne, who must perform as many knee lifts as possible in thirty seconds, without spilling the water contained in the plastic cups he holds in his hand. This time, it failed. Not enough to start the good mood of each other, too happy to be able to let off steam after a studious morning.
"You have to be ready to take the light"
Because, despite some fun workshops - an orienteering course, a freediving session, a muscular awakening, a big bath in water at 0 ° C -, these young talents did not come to exhibit their sculpted bodies, but rather “ build their brains. Nominated to represent France at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, they must learn to manage their image and their career, which cannot be limited to their sports results.
"We are not only asked to perform, but also to know how to sell ourselves," testifies the great hope of the decathlon Ludovic Besson, 22 years old. In other words, to tell a story. Their story. "You have to be ready to take the light," explains Gonzague. Remember Emilie Le Pennec: in 2004, in Athens, she became the first French Olympic champion in the history of gymnastics, and her title caught everyone by surprise. Above all, she. When she arrives at a press conference, she finds herself facing 300 journalists, but knows only two. She doesn't know what to say. It is his coach who answers the questions. Without having been prepared for all this, she fails to capitalize on her gold medal. "
Social media was still in limbo that year. Only Facebook had just been created, without its use being generalized. Today, they have invaded our lives, and footballers are rushing to their laptops at half-time to see comments from their fans, but also from “haters” (detractors)… at the risk of damaging their confidence, so even that the match is not over! "We are a generation who is immersed in it," recognizes 20-year-old surfer Mathis Crozon. We spend a lot - too much - time on our social networks. And we underestimate their dangerousness. A point on which Gonzague insists, recommending them not to communicate "hot" after a defeat, not to respond to provocations and, above all, to be wary of what they say in front of a virtual audience. In 2016, the footballer Serge Aurier was thus released in front of 300 people on the Periscope application, criticizing his coach of the time at Paris Saint-Germain, Laurent Blanc, by calling him a "fiotte". "In a minute, you can destroy what you have taken twenty years to build," asserts Gonzague.
Sponsors require a certain number of posts
Just like stars and "people", athletes have become targets. Neymar was accused of rape in 2019 by a young woman who had phished him on social networks - the complaint was dismissed. And it is to this risk that Gonzague wanted to educate apprentice champions. "Don't go on Snapchat, take no nude photos, don't respond to advances," he warns. I don't want you to have a relationship with someone you meet on social media, these are pitfalls. What scare some young people, who admit to go backwards. “It paralyzes me, says Paul Tritenne. I'm on Instagram, but I have to force myself to post, so I don't like it. I try to be as smooth as possible to avoid any bad buzz . "
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An apprehension shared by Emma Brentel, 17-year-old pole vaulter, who also publishes on "Insta", essentially to meet the needs of her sponsor, Adidas. Like Zoé Grospiron, who has become a “Roxy girl”, named after her equipment supplier. Today, any contract that binds a sponsor to an athlete stipulates the minimum number of posts that he must publish on social networks. The most famous athletes, like Teddy Riner, delegate the management to a community manager. Not Kylian Mbappé, who prefers to take on this task himself. German Sebastian Vettel is a UFO. Claiming the right to “not share everything”, the quadruple world champion of Formula 1 has no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram account…
Still, despite the pitfalls, social networks also represent a great opportunity to publicize a confidential sport. Freestyle ski specialist, Kevin Rolland has acquired a reputation incommensurate with that of his discipline, "slopestyle", integrated into the Olympic program in 2014. In a video that went viral - more than 4 million views! -, he descends the slopes of La Plagne, before going on jumps and figures above the chalets and restaurants of the Savoyard station
As a result, he was asked to advertise Shiseido cosmetics and Mumm champagne. "But I always make sure that it does not encroach on my training and my performances", specifies the champion of 30 years, who encourages young people to express themselves on the media which corresponds to them, with a tone and a format in the spirit of the times. “What he has succeeded inspires me, appreciates the decathlete Ludovic Besson. Now I have to find original content to tell myself. We bet that, in this area too, the 2024 generation has not finished surprising us.
