Sarah Daninthe, former fencer on duty for women's rights
Editor-in-chief of the RFI morning show on the occasion of International Women's Day this Friday, March 8, Sarah Daninthe flourished in fencing, including an Olympic medal in Athens in 2004. For her, the Women's rights still remain a struggle, including in sports.
Sarah Daninthe.
© Marco Longari / AFP
By: Farid Achache Follow
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Sarah Daninthe tasted the world of fencing from a very young age, even though she had the opportunity to practice several sports, such as basketball.
In Guadeloupe, she was just 5 years old when she began to take up a discipline that dates back to ancient Egypt and which would take her to the top, with an Olympic medal in 2004 in
Athens
.
By team, notably with Laura Flessel, Sarah Daninthe took third place on the podium, behind Russia and Germany.
“
Sport brought me well-being, daring and the ability to be confident in my everyday life
,” immediately recounts the woman who felt inspired by Michael Jordan and
Marie-José Perec.
.
“
Yes, there have been advances for women in sport
”
For Sarah Daninthe, women's rights still remain a long fight.
Even if she welcomes the progress in sport.
Example:
in Paris next summer, there will be perfect parity
among the approximately 10,000 athletes selected.
“
It’s good to have egalitarian Olympics,”
she said.
This means that there is indeed a second sex, as they say.
Yes, there have been advances for women in sport.
In football in the United States, they fought to have the same rights as men in the selection.
In France, the Handball Federation pays men and women equally.
There is still a way to go for women's sport to receive its fair share of publicity and for women to be at the head of federations.
»
In France, host country of the
2024 Olympic Games
, women's sport represents only 5% out of 100 hours of sports broadcasts on television, according to the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom).
What worries Sarah Daninthe the most is the relatively low number of women coaching at the high level.
“
They cannot, for the moment, invest in the most human side of sport, namely helping athletes progress and transmitting information
,” she regrets.
Athens, his most beautiful memory
Sarah Daninthe claims it loud and clear: “
This day of March 8 is important
.
» The native of Abymes, the most populous commune in Guadeloupe, argues: “
We still need to express ourselves.
We are in a world in which we still have to fight for rights.
We need to speak out so that things change and March 8 becomes a date in history, but no longer in the present.
» She remains convinced that sport can help change mentalities.
Sarah Daninthe made her first French championships at the age of 11.
She then obtained her first national medal.
She was also twice world champion with the French women's epee team, in 2005 and 2008. But it is obviously Athens which remains her fondest sporting memory.
“
When I walked into the room, I said to myself: '
There are going to be billions of people watching you. You made sacrifices to be here and you have to savor this moment
.'
And then there was the final touch and the podium.
It was fantastic, I thought about everything I hadn't been able to experience with my family and friends to be at the Olympics.
I was very happy to have followed my dream.
»
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France
International Women's Day
Fencing
Womens rights
Women
Olympic Games