Paris (AFP)
Facilities available drop by drop, an uncertain calendar: deconfinement is not yet synonymous with a return to normal for French athletics already deprived of the two highlights of the season, the Olympics and the European Championships, victims coronavirus.
After two months of solo training and D system to maintain fitness, the end of the tunnel is timidly sketched out for the best tricolor athletes. The Insep will not welcome its first residents until next Monday, the opening of the Creps will be spread out throughout May and that of the stadiums depends on the good will of the mayors.
To hasten the reopening of structures, the president of the French Athletics Federation (FFA) André Giraud also wrote an open letter Tuesday to François Baroin, the boss of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), demanding a "support" of councilors for the "provision of outdoor facilities".
"If we allow the practice of athletics but the mayor of a town decides to keep its stadium closed, the recovery will not be possible," said André Giraud.
Among the blue headliners, few are those who were able to hit the slopes this week.
If the Olympic vice-champion of the disc Mélina Robert-Michon, who trains at the Parc de Parilly in the Lyon area, and the European silver medalist of the hammer Alexandra Tavernier, based in Ploumilliau (Côtes d'Armor), are rather well off, others still need to be patient.
- An upset universe -
For the decathlon world record holder Kevin Mayer (Creps de Montpellier) and the 110m hurdles European champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (Creps de Reims), the reunion with a stadium will take place from May 18. As for Christophe Lemaitre, who mainly focused on bodybuilding and hill work during confinement, he now has access to the grass track of the Aix-les-Bains racecourse (Savoie) but the stadium does will not reopen until next week.
The 2017 world champion in the 800m Pierre-Ambroise Bosse is still stuck in Johannesburg in South Africa but intends to come back to train at Insep fairly quickly.
No urgency either for Renaud Lavillenie, who is in no hurry to take the pole seriously before June. The world record holder for the 50 km walk Yohann Diniz has ended his season squarely.
Once the door of their enclosure crossed, the athletes will however discover a universe completely upset by the coronavirus and new rules to assimilate to avoid any contamination.
The FFA indeed unveiled on Monday the modalities for resuming training: group sessions will be limited to 10 people, an area of 4 m² must be respected between each individual at a standstill as well as a distance of 10 m between the runners. For launchers or jumpers, the equipment must be disinfected after each change of user. Access to the changing rooms will also be prohibited.
Which does not seem to particularly worry the main stakeholders.
- The calendar unknown -
"On most sessions, I train on my own or with a maximum of two or three people and we each have our own launching equipment. For the moment, it's not too restrictive," explains AFP Mélina Robert- Michon.
"There is no problem for me, my coach is hyper vigilant and I am the only one to use my hammers. I do not fear much," said Alexandra Tavernier.
The big unknown mainly concerns the calendar. With the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to 2021 and the cancellation of the Euro in Paris, the athletes will have no big event to get their teeth into this year. And even if the International Federation published on Tuesday a new calendar spreading from mid-August to October for day-long meetings, their format still remains to be defined and some could be more like exhibitions than real competitions. 'Athletics.
"The Games are not being prepared in six months. I find my motivation in thinking that everything I do now will serve me next year," said Mélina Robert-Michon.
"Meetings will not fill me up. It will be my pleasure to set foot on a track but it will not replace a championship," said Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, while Alexandra Tavernier wants to "see the side positive". "I tell myself that instead of having ten months of preparation for the Games, I will have 20," added the recordwoman from France.
© 2020 AFP