2020 without the Olympic Games: African athletes confined but motivated

Text by: Christophe Jousset Follow

They are four African athletes fully tense in recent seasons towards the Tokyo 2020 goal. They had to cash in the postponement to next year of the Olympic Games due to the coronavirus pandemic. Not easy even if everyone puts things into perspective while thinking about the general interest. From the Ivorian Marie-Josée Ta Lou (100 and 200 meters) confined to Abidjan, to the Burkinabè Hugues Fabrice Zango (triple jump) blocked in Béthune, passing by the Congolese Franck Elemba (shot put) in Rabat and the Beninese Odile Ahouanwanou (heptathlon) in Rouen, here are the thoughts of frustrated but always motivated champions.

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" It is a good decision. Unanimously, the athletes joined at their home approve the announcement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on March 24, to postpone the Olympics for a year. " With a twinge of heart, " concedes Hugues Fabrice Zango, " because we have been waiting for the Games for four years ".

Marie-Josée Ta Lou is not used to pouring out. But we know its history: in Rio in 2016, the Ivorian sprinter finished twice at the foot of the podium, failing even a few thousandths of a second behind a medal over 100 meters. His Olympic revenge will wait a bit. She manages her frustration: “ All of the training since the Rio Games was to get to this competition, but it doesn't really hurt me because it affects my health and the health of everyone. Better to take precautions than to hope to make the Olympics and to have dead on the conscience. "

Zango is " on the phone every day with the family in Burkina " and he is very worried: " The epidemic is progressing and can become a disaster. You have to stay at home. More discipline is needed. "

" A press of phew "

The postponement of the Games had been in the air for two or three weeks. The uncertainty had become heavy for Odile Ahouanwanou: “ We were stressed, we were under pressure. The relief is palpable on the other end. Licensed in Sotteville in the West of France, the Beninese is currently in Rouen. It was there that she prepared her success for October 2019: an eighth place in the heptathlon at the World Championships in Doha, a promising result as the Games approached, the perfect moment that should mark a whole career. Behind her voice, kitchen noises signal her in her apartment. No more going outside to train. “ I live less than 2 km from the stadium, I miss him a lot. For me, it's my home ! Like all athletes, she organized herself to " keep fit " at home. “ I'm in a four-story building so I'm doing staircases. When you are used to ten training sessions per week and you move to two… We can't do much but we keep in shape. "

In his university residence in Béthune in the north of France, the triple jumper Hugues Fabrice Zango explains: “ All that is specific preparation is completely upset and we can no longer progress. The stadiums are closed. Ultimately, I could jump in the yard but on tarmac it would be dangerous. So abdominals, sheathing and pumps.

It is also the daily newspaper of Franck Elemba in Rabat: “ It is impossible to launch into the apartment, because the weight is 7 kilos 260. It is a very dangerous machine, we will avoid breaking everything ! His mother, with whom he has been stranded for three weeks, will appreciate the delicacy of the Congolese colossus.

" Small tingling in the feet "

In Abidjan, where the curfew begins at 9:00 p.m., Marie-Josée Ta Lou does not suffer too much from confinement. " I have tendonitis and I needed to rest so there I do nothing. I still have little tingling in the feet that really want to run but otherwise I have always been a homebody so it does not bother me at all. I watch TV, read, pray or cook. "

" We don't get depressed !" Confirms the engineer Zango. " Since the virus is here, I have ordered lots of models, " said the doctoral student in electrical engineering. “ I try to make electronics to pass the time. I do my experiments at home until I have access to the laboratory again. »Odile Ahouanwanou takes the opportunity to read, she who must validate this year her last test for the CAP Early childhood.

Elemba sings Celine Dion

As for Franck Elemba, he found a way to keep morale high. Fourth in Rio in 2016, the best place for an African shot pitcher at the Olympic Games, the Congolese is less convincing, but he is sure to come back and does not hesitate to confide his taste for Céline Dion before starting to sing in front of his smartphone: " And if you think it's over ... "

The Olympic goal is postponed to 2021, probably in the summer. Last Tuesday, Hugues Fabrice Zango had a first reaction of discouragement at the moment: " I said to myself :" It's good, I don't train anymore, huh ! " He quickly found every reason to resist the demobilization. " There is no major championship before March 2021 (Editor's note. The World Indoor Athletics Championships in Nanjing, initially scheduled for March 2020 and postponed due to the pandemic), that weighs on us. It takes great mental strength. But to relax too much would be to kill all the progress you have made. The Burkinabè knows what he is talking about, he is in constant progress since his elimination from the qualifying session in Rio. His African record series, his bronze medal at the World Championships in Doha last year, his thunderous start to the winter season (17.77 meters in February, 15 cm from the world record in the triple jump room) authorize to envisage an Olympic medal which would be the very first in the history of his country.

At 31, Marie-Josée Ta Lou knows that she is closer to the end of her career than to the beginning. The postponement is above all " good news for young people ", she said before adding: " I know that I still have juice and that I am running fast. She seems more concerned about the financial consequences of the disruption of the calendar. The first six meetings of the 2020 Diamond League have already been postponed. " It represents a lot because I live only on athletics, I live only on my results, meeting bonuses and sponsor money. If there isn't all that, we have nothing. And to hope that his supplier is " understanding ".

Franck Elemba's words collected by Martin Guez

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