If you can't be in Clichy-sous-bois to cheer on Mathieu Bosredon in his quest for Paralympic gold, you can still support him from Brive. Several associations and institutions have worked together to create a fan zone at the Derichebourg space, near the Brive Stadium.
The fan zone will be open from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on September 4, 5, and 7. It will feature a bar, a giant screen to broadcast the races, seating and standing room, and activities organized by the Brive tourist office. Schools have already indicated their attendance, as the school year will have started a few days earlier.
The goal is to support the athlete and the sport, and to create vocations. “Vocation for volunteers, but also for practitioners in different geographical areas,” explains Charles Debieuvre, president of the Corrèze handisport committee. “To show them that it's possible, of course at a high level like Mathieu, but also at a recreational level.”
The Corrèze champion is understandably touched by this first for him. But Mathieu Bosredon, who knows the importance of competition, wants to stay focused on his upcoming races. “I'm trying to block it all out. I think it's great, but I know what it's like to get caught up in your emotions. I experienced it in Rio,” recounts the athlete, who surely remembers that cruel 4th place at his first Games. No opening ceremony this Wednesday for him, as for the entire French paracycling team, which also reflects his state of concentration. The Corrèze native is currently in Lille and will return to Paris at the beginning of next week, a few days before the competition. “In reality, I'm going to go into a bubble. I know there's a lot of excitement, and more than before, but I don't want to get carried away by it. The only time I want it to affect me is when it's over!
“We hope to sing the Marseillaise and come back the next day and sing it again, then another,” confides Zoé Tison. We hope so too.
This fan zone was created by numerous institutions and associations: the city of Brive, the Corrèze Department, APF France Handicap, and the Corrèze handisport committee. Among the associations are the Bouchons d'Amour de la Corrèze. “More than ten years ago, our association helped Mathieu Bosredon buy his first handbike, to the tune of 700 euros for the purchase of a wheel,” recalls Maïté Charbonnel, president of the association.
“It was natural to help create this fan zone to support Mathieu all the way to gold,” continues the woman for whom disability is not a swear word but a reality. “I don't hide the fact that my daughter has a visual impairment. And often I give her Mathieu as an example to tell her we're moving forward! What Mathieu does is erase the little difference between them and us in front of people who are considered able-bodied. He has this intelligence that many people with reduced mobility take for themselves, to show that they are capable of doing the same things as others.”
Being behind Mathieu Bosredon is important. “Corrèze, Limousin, Dordogne must be behind him,” believes Christine Laurent, a member of the Afeciouna (CAB supporter group) and the Girls In Roze (involved in the fight against cancer). “He's a guy with a big heart, an extraordinary person,” says the woman who posed with him for the Girls In Roze calendar. “We did a photo shoot together and it was a really cool shooting day. I'm happy to give him back a little of what he gave me.”
She will be volunteering, like the other Girls In Roze and Afeciouna, at this fan zone. “The project was born to give him maximum support,” explains Zoé Tison, from the Mathieu Bosredon Supporters Association. “Also, so that a maximum number of supporters can experience these Games as if they were there, even if they can't travel.” To that end, the Derichebourg space has been made available (thanks in part to CAB Entreprise) to allow for the installation of this fan zone. “We tried to set it to the times of Mathieu's events, which is why the fan zone will open at 2:30 p.m. and run until 7:30 p.m. There will be a bar, a giant screen to broadcast the events, seating and standing room, and activities organized in particular by the Brive tourist office.
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