Paris (AFP)

"So hard that all of my work is questioned." The athlete Ophélie Claude-Boxberger, whose dossier for doping at EPO was transmitted to the AFLD sanctions committee, explains to AFP that he wants to prove his innocence at the end of a painful period.

The specialist of the 3000 m steeplechase, which risks four years of suspension, claims to have been doped without his knowledge by his mother's companion, Alain Flaccus, jealous of his relationship with the former doctor of the France team Jean-Michel Serra . Another incredible episode in a tragic personal story, the daughter of the founder Jacky Boxberger explaining having been sexually assaulted by Mr. Flaccus, then his trainer, when she was a minor.

QUESTION: What state of mind are you in?

ANSWER: "It was a long time to wait with confinement. Everything was delayed, justice too. I train at best. I found a good level fairly quickly. I went through several phases, first to tell me that what was happening to me was not normal, then anger. "

Q: What do you expect from your appearance before the sanctions committee?

A: "The discontinuance of the prosecutions. It seems that there is no presumption of innocence; when we receive the notification of the positive control (November 4, 2019 for a control on September 18) we are already guilty. However, we had made progress with Oclaesp (Central Office for Combating Environmental and Public Health Damage, gendarmerie service which conducts its own investigation), we knew where it came from, the AFLD (French anti-doping agency) did not take it into account. It is a shame that AFLD does not work with Oclaesp. It seems that I am guilty of everything, responsible for having brings this man back (editor's note: Alain Flaccus) into my life, that he has done nothing. What do they think? It's not that simple. "

Q: What feedback have you had from the athletics community in the past few months?

A: "In this business, I felt very supported by the people who knew me well. These people know that I am a hard worker, I did not come from nowhere. I have always been one of the best French people.

On the other hand, many people may have been jealous, resentful and went wild on social networks. At first I answered, but there was even more hatred. For example, girls who were my younger opponents were able to write + we always knew it (...) because of it I missed a high-level career +. Whatever. It hurts."

Q: You have exposed yourself a lot in recent months ...

A: "With this case I exposed my private life, this is in particular why I want to file a complaint against Alain Flaccus for rape (facts not prescribed which date from about fifteen years, denied by Mr. Flaccus I don't want to pay for everything, I paid enough like that with her sexual assaults. I don't want to lose my athletic career, that's almost all I have left. It's so hard that all my work is questioned, I trained hard, I paid attention to everything, nutrition ... When I think of all the sacrifices ... It makes me angry. In addition I do not live athletics, I I am a 70% EPS TZR teacher (holder in the replacement zone), I have never had any problems with my students, they are proud to be coached by an athlete.

I wonder: + when will it stop? + My life is like that, maybe it's sad, things happened to me ... People jokingly say that it's like a series. But people are talking about me there. "

Q: Your relationship with Dr. Serra, since dismissed by the federation, has also been much commented ...

A: "It is misunderstood that an athlete can be in a relationship with a doctor. After the revelations about our relationship (in June 2019), the nightmare continued at the Doha Worlds (between September and October 2019). People from the technical department spying on us, trying to take pictures of us. We couldn't live our relationship anymore. "

Q: How do you plan your career?

A: "My goal for a long time is to finish in 2024 at the Marathon Games, as my father did in Los Angeles in 1984 (42nd). I wanted to finish on the track in Tokyo and then switch to the road."

Interview by Robin GREMMEL

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