Yannick Noah was present this Saturday at Le Grand-Bornand to give a concert there, on the occasion of Glisse en Cœur. This 24-hour ski relay has been sponsoring an association linked to childhood every year for the past fifteen years. This time, the event raises funds for MeeO (My extraordinary school), a unique establishment in France, based in Annecy (Haute-Savoie), for children with autistic or attention disorders. In addition to Noah, other athletes such as Olympic ski champion Antoine Dénériaz or the last winner of the Vendée Globe, Bestaven, had answered the call.
Can you explain to us the reasons for your presence in Le Grand-Bornand?
YANNICK NOAH. We always know of children who are victims of these difficulties, directly or indirectly. So of course we are sensitive. These are children who have difficulty integrating academically and educationally. It’s not always easy. It’s a great initiative, especially when it’s done through an event like La Glisse en Cœur. It’s fun, we meet together, we make music, there is a sporting emulation. I am happy to participate, humbly because there are people who work daily for the cause of autistic children or who have attention or learning disorders… I am just passing through today, with great pleasure. It’s been two years since Glisse en coeur was postponed, this time it’s the right one.
Are you concerned by the issue of the MeeO association?
As a parent, but I won’t talk about that anymore.
Sport can serve as a vector for social awareness, or other causes. How do you view the evolution of this sensitivity in athletes?
We are necessarily more sensitive to a problem that affects us closely, when a member of our family or a friend is concerned. Today, new modes of communication are upsetting ways of acting, multiplying actions. Afterwards, the notoriety of celebrities and sportsmen can obviously be used through actions. Our mere presence can shed light on the work of volunteers working behind the scenes. We form a chain of solidarity. But if we look back, Fernandel had, at the time, created the first retreats for former artists. He was the only one. And then we saw great initiatives flourish like We are the World… Little by little, artists and athletes saw that they could be useful.
Precisely, we see former Ukrainian tennis players like Andreï Medvedev who take up arms to defend their country…
Everyone tries to participate at their own level, depending on the obstacles that stand in front of us. Mutual aid is a very powerful tool. And with the news, in more serious circumstances, people can serve as standard bearers, and this is the case of these athletes who show the example.
Do you admire this type of dedication?
I have a lot of admiration for courageous people, and these tennis players are enormously so.
You also recently posted a video where you howl your disappointment following the defeat of PSG. Where did this cry from the heart come from?
I am a supporter of PSG, so this elimination was a great frustration, and I expressed it violently on social networks! (Laughter) It was a lot of noise but it was fun. I was at home and I was being teased by friends who were against PSG and for Real. So it was more compared to them, because it was hard. It was fun, but hard for me to put up with. I have great memories with this club that I accompanied in 1996 for the mental preparation of the team, during the victory in the Coupe des Coupes. It was a beautiful human adventure, a very great memory in my heart. I kept some friends, it will remain engraved.