2023-11-29 20:38:12
They both shone at the Winter Games and are jubilant at the idea of being able to host the 2030 Games in France. From the Etoiles du Sport in Tignes (Savoie), Arthur Bauchet, three-time Paralympic champion in alpine skiing, and Martin Fourcade, five-time Olympic champion in biathlon, said they were delighted with the decision taken this Wednesday by the executive commission of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC).
The candidacy of the Alps was in fact selected by the institution to pursue a targeted and unique dialogue, which excludes those of Switzerland and Sweden. Barring a cataclysm, France will therefore host the Winter Games in 2030, six years after the Summer Olympics in Paris.
“A life goal” for Arthur Bauchet
“It’s just incredible,” jubilant Arthur Bauchet, 23 years old. It’s true that the goal of my career is always the Games, but here, the Paralympic Games at home, it’s really a life goal. I believe I have found a real life purpose.”
Surrounded throughout the week by athletes qualified or in the process of becoming so for Paris 2024, the para-skier was able to measure the enthusiasm generated by such an event at home and is delighted to be able to experience it in turn. “We, winter athletes, dreamed so much about Paris,” he explains. We were so happy to see the Games back at home… I never thought I would experience them in my career and it’s just crazy! »
At his side, Martin Fourcade, also a French member of the IOC, also expressed his happiness. “It’s a great joy because I’m just happy already to have contributed to this file, to have been able to convince the IOC to trust us,” he began. Above all, I am very happy to know that a generation of French athletes will be able to look at a not-so-distant deadline with stars in their eyes. »
Martin Fourcade wants to “shape a sustainable model” for the Games
Already looking ahead, with this “targeted dialogue with the IOC in mind in order to be able to refine the file, continue to perfect it”, the now retired reiterated his desire to participate in the organization of “sustainable” Games. “In the world we live in, the Olympic Games are sometimes questioned and I am convinced that we have this responsibility to be able to write the Games of tomorrow,” he explained. I had the chance to experience incredible Games in Sochi in 2014 but which today would not meet ecological and social expectations. To be able to contribute to shaping a model that I deeply believe in is an immense source of pride. »
Arthur Bauchet is looking forward to observing “emulation” next summer and “wants to dream, hoping that there will be the same in 2030”. No doubt, he will be on skis for at least seven more years, with a trip to Italy and the Milan-Cortina Games in 2026, his next big goal.
For Martin Fourcade, perhaps the time will soon come to carry out the project? “Honestly, it’s a reflection that I haven’t given any thought to today,” he said this Wednesday evening, recalling that he is currently focusing on his show tour. “But I can’t deny that it’s a thought that has come up to me several times,” he admitted. The native of the Pyrénées-Orientales will undoubtedly be one of the protagonists of this file.
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