Laura Flessel: “A new image of women’s sport”

The figures don’t lie. Laura Flessel, France’s most famous female fencer, was at six consecutive editions of the Olympic Games. The first five as an athlete, from Atlanta 1996 to London 2012, winning five medals in the épée events, two of them gold. The sixth as a coach, at Rio 2016. Named France's Sports Minister in May 2017, she was there for the final months of Paris’s candidature to host the 2024 Games. Then she played a big role in the creation of the Organising Committee (OCOG), and the adoption of the Olympic law by parliament. Almost a whole lifetime linked to the Olympic Games. And a voice that carries weight when it comes to Paris 2024, its preparation and legacy.

You were Sports Minister when the IOC awarded the 2024 Games to Paris. What is your memory of the Session in Lima in September 2017?

It’s still fresh in my mind, almost seven years later. The memory of a big moment, especially the final meetings before the Session. When we went to Lima, we weren’t 100 per cent sure we’d be bringing the Games back to France, after the many previous failures. But back to the official announcement. I was representing sports governance, but also the athletes and volunteers. I felt like the mediator between the sports movement, the state and the local communities.

You were still Sports Minister when the Paris 2024 OCOG started out. What was the most important thing for you at that time?

The priority was very institutional, as we needed to get the National Assembly and then the Senate to approve the creation of the OCOG but also SOLIDEO, the public body overseeing the building of Olympic infrastructure. A painstaking job, but essential in order to have a free rein afterwards. And then we had to create an organisation chart.

Can the Paris 2024 Games change the place of sport in French society?

Sport is an amazing tool for integration and inclusion, but also for health and well-being. Paris 2024 will be a showcase for this, as it speaks to everyone. Today, one child in three is overweight. You can sense a kind of malaise in society. The Games can’t perform miracles, but they can channel the benefits of sport and physical activity. The Paralympics will also play a big role in promoting sport for people with disabilities. Look at gyms, for example. They’re accessible now, but sorely lacking in equipment that people with reduced mobility can use.

Paris 2024 will be the first Games to have an equal number of male and female medallists. Will we see the effects of this parity on women’s sport?

Sport has long been a male-dominated affair. Things are evolving, but there’s still a lot of ground to cover. Paris 2024 will show a new image of women’s sport and female athletes. The image of women who are both mothers and champions.

Of the five Olympic Games that you experienced as an athlete, which edition do you feel most closely resembled the image you have of Olympism?

Sydney 2000, no question. A real celebration of sport, for the athletes, the media and the Olympic family. The Australians welcomed the world with a big smile, and we felt like honoured guests from start to finish. They were also highly professional. For us athletes, everything went smoothly. In the Village, nothing was impossible. There was always a solution. I didn’t win a gold medal there, but Sydney 2000 will always be in my heart.

A word about fencing, which will be staged in the Grand Palais. What do you think the competitions will be like?

This won’t be a novelty for anyone of a certain age, as France organised the World Championships there in 2010. It’s a super venue. Many former champions have worked on the preparations for the Games, including Brice Guyart, the Olympic individual foil gold medallist in 2004. They know their stuff. And we’ll have a very good French team for all the weapons.

Published in the Olympic Review 122