There are many examples of athletes who fell as quickly after their careers were over as they had risen high during their heyday. English boxing champion Jerome Thomas (44) is one of them. World champion of boxing in amateurs (2001), double Olympic medalist (silver at the Athens Games in 2004 and bronze in Sydney in 2000), champion of France in professional (2011), the native of Saint-Quentin (Aisne) confided in a long interview with L'Equipe.
In it, he recounts, in particular, his heavy alcoholism, which led to his hospitalization and withdrawal at the end of 2023. "I drank because I have no self-esteem, no self-confidence," he says. With alcohol, you feel invincible. I didn't think I was interesting without alcohol. One evening in October when he hit rock bottom, it was one of his brothers, a nurse, who saved him. "He takes the beers from the fridge, takes the keys and locks me in my house. Since October 4th, I haven't touched alcohol. He is also the one who finds her an appointment for a withdrawal.
"If I drink again, I die"
This sportsman with the heart of a competitor tells the story of his fight against alcohol as a new step into the ring, facing an opponent who hits hard. "I decided not to drink anymore. It's my pride. I need to do something that not many people can do, like go to the Olympics three times. Alcohol cannot be cured. My dad died from it. I know it's going to be a fight every day (...) I'm not going to lie to you, if I drink again, I'll die. With the meds I'm taking, a beer would kill me. »
It is also with his fellow boxers that he falls into drink: "I started at 16, when I took a bake at my first internship in the France team to do like the grown-ups, he rewinds. When I got home, Brahim Asloum, with whom I was in the same room, had to undress me and put me in the shower. But I've never boxed while drunk. »
Alcoholism is just the tip of the iceberg. He says he also struggles with anxiety and bipolar disorder. And debts, especially gambling, poker or scratch games, another addiction to which he has left feathers. "I must have €30,000 in debts, consumer credit, EDF... And I have mailbox syndrome: I can't open the mail I receive, I can't face life. »
Today, Jérôme Thomas is employed in the sports department of the town hall of Saint-Quentin. A stable job in his hometown, which helps him overcome an ever-increasing and difficult challenge. "I know it's going to be hard to get people's trust back. To change their outlook: now, when I go to the café, I order a coffee or a strawberry diabolo. People look at me: Are you sick?
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