Every Thursday, in its “off-field” section,
20 Minutes
explores new spaces for the expression of sport, unexpected, unusual, clever or in full swing.
This week, we are focusing on the journey of Agathe Bessard, on the way to becoming the first French athlete in history to participate in the skeleton event at the Olympic Games, next February in Beijing.
The 22-year-old Savoyard resorted to crowdfunding in her last weeks (12,000 euros collected) in order to be able to live her Olympic dream.
“Around La Plagne, the name of my sport still speaks a little. But more often than not, I am made to repeat it several times. It is overwhelmingly tiring, so I suggest people go to Google. "This ultra-little-known passion discipline that has been practicing Savoyard Agathe Bessard since she was 14," the legal age to start at the time ", is skeleton. Namely, a spectacular individual winter sport on a special board resembling sledging, but which is used here face down, head forward, after a race of about thirty meters during the push.
While practicing gymnastics and alpine skiing during her childhood, the native of Albertville (Savoie) never stops eyeing skeleton.
A funny idea that can be explained quite easily: his father Alain organized the bobsleigh and luge events on the La Plagne track, during the Albertville Olympic Games in 1992, seven years before the birth of Agathe.
"She was often by my side and she quickly liked the speed of this discipline," explains the man who has remained for 30 years the technical director of this unique track approved in France.
But I did not encourage her to go down this path, on the contrary.
"
Revealed in Lillehammer in 2016 during the Youth Olympic Games
This does not prevent the young girl from quickly learning by heart the 19 turns of her favorite spot, located a few kilometers from the family home. Her big take off took place in 2016 with the Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer (Norway), where she won the bronze medal. A first podium on the senior circuit of the World Cup in 2017, again in Lillehammer, then two places of vice-European junior champion in 2019 and in 2020, and here is Agathe Bessard launched at 22 years old towards her first Olympics, in February in Beijing.
Apart from the big disappointment in the coming weeks, when she will participate in the 4th World Cup stage in Winterberg (Germany) on Friday, she should become the first French athlete in history to take part in an Olympiad in skeleton.
"It is already one of my great successes to have been the first Frenchwoman to participate in World Cups", indicates the young brunette woman of 1.61 m.
"Sensations that cannot be found anywhere else"
“My daughter is going to fulfill her dream so it is of course a great source of pride for me,” continues Alain Bessard. What is impressive is that she trains almost every day, even outside of her competitive season. She thinks about skeleton morning, afternoon and night. "The person concerned can only confirm:" Since I was little, I have always told my parents that I will do skeleton. As much as bobsleigh and tobogganing didn't appeal to me at all, there was something about skeleton as well. Finding yourself between 120 and 140 km / h with your face a few centimeters from the ice, these are sensations that you cannot find anywhere else ”. She may well assure that "all those who try this sport adore it", Agathe Bessard regrets since her beginnings in France to feel so lonely in the world.
There is really no one here in skeleton, it's frustrating. The first problem is not having the right to start as a child. Since we can enter the sports club of a resort at 6 years old, we are not going to move towards a new activity later when all our friends stay skiing. If the only track in France was in Paris and not in La Plagne, it might be different. "
Her fate would then have been turned upside down, while the Savoy was nevertheless recently joined on the circuit by Paige Alford, a Franco-Canadian.
Who says discipline very far from media radars says preparations for folk races or even galleys.
Still living with her parents, Agathe Bessard finds herself devoting a good part of her time to booking her flights and hotel nights.
If the French ice sports federation, the FFSG, paid for its previous year (for an amount between 15,000 and 20,000 euros), this is not the case for this so special Olympic season.
90,000 euros to collect to manage an entire season
A hard blow, especially since he already has to put from his pocket about 10,000 euros of equipment in the skeleton.
In total, an athlete must collect 90,000 euros to manage an entire season.
This is why Agathe, who is continuing her studies in L3 at Staps de Grenoble in a structure dedicated to high-level athletes, has launched crowdfunding in recent weeks.
She reached the 12,000 euros targeted in order to have "a chance to live this Olympic dream".
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"There is so much investment and personal sacrifices, including the financial aspect, that if it is not a child's dream behind, it cannot work," she says.
It's not possible to live off skeleton.
German athletes get by by being employees of the army or the police, for example.
As it was "impossible" for her to benefit from a French coach, she bet for this key season on Lelde Prideluna, a former Latvian athlete who finished 7th at the previous Olympics.
"We hope that the federation will be able to project itself over four years"
Sixth coach in the young career of the Frenchwoman and entirely dependent on her, Lelde Prideluna lives during her stays in the Alps with ... neighbors of the Bessard family, who lodge her free of charge in the small village of Villards, near from La Plagne.
Alain Bessard sums up the difficulties of his daughter, who relies on part of her grandparents' inheritance to finance her season.
There are a lot of confidential sports in France.
For all these athletes, if the parents do not have a certain financial comfort, they cannot aspire to the high level.
We are trying to manage and we hope that the federation can then plan on a real program for four years, until the Cortina Olympics in 2026. "
This tortuous course, in view of the many structural hazards, could constitute a strength, according to his new coach.
"The first time I heard about Agathe, I understood that she never took anything for granted," Lelde Prideluna appreciates.
I love to see her contradict the statistics, prove people wrong, and become a strong, independent woman.
There is a saying that there is no star too far away and no dream too big.
“However, Agathe Bessard believes“ not to be medalist ”in Beijing, where she aims for a top 15. Quoting Nelson Mandela:“ A winner is a dreamer who never gives up ”.
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