He is a figure of the France team. He is also the dean and one of the best chances for medals. At 52, Ronan Pallier, alias “grandpa jumper”, competes in his fourth Para-Athletics World Championshipse, which begin this Saturday in Paris. One before the Paralympic Games, the long jumper from Nantes gives himself up for 20 minutes. Maintenance without language of wood.
How do you approach such an event when you have your experience?
It’s fine, I’m calm, I’ve known others. I am someone who remains positive, even if there is necessarily a little pressure that rises. To qualify directly for the Games, you have to finish in the top four. It does add a bit of stress and responsibility.
What will be your ambition?
I aim at least for the podium and, if possible, the title. It’s still in France! It’s our home. Otherwise it is useless to do the high level. We are five-six in the world in a pocket handkerchief, so anything is possible. I am reigning European champion so I know that I am particularly awaited.
What is your daily work schedule?
I am one of the few to be professional. I train every day from Monday to Friday, about 12 hours a week. Before, I was in my twenties, but I’m not very young anymore, I have to take care of my body. In general I am in Nantes, sometimes on internships abroad. I mostly practice indoors, it’s safer for me than on an outdoor track in less good condition. As a visually impaired person, I have to avoid stepping into a hole. Getting a peg is quick. You have to know how to manage your handicap, be careful.
Where does your disability come from?
It’s retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative genetic disease. There is no treatment. Blindness happened just like that, overnight. One morning, when you wake up, you can’t see anything. I was 31 years old. The disease was latent, without my knowing it. I am a child of the Ddass, I had no information on the genetics of my family. I define myself as an incomplete blind person because I still have a light perception. I know when it’s day, when it’s night, if there’s a big building in front of me. But I don’t know the difference between a pole and a person, a car and a rock. And as soon as the brightness decreases, I am completely blind.
How did you react to this sudden blindness?
I tell myself that life goes on, even with a disability. I’ve always been active, I don’t have a temperament to let myself go. Just because I can’t see much doesn’t mean I can’t run, that I can’t bungee jump. I do almost everything like everyone else and, in addition, I have the chance to travel. It’s not always easy, but you have to remove the constraints, be a go-getter, not be afraid.
Continuing athletics was obvious?
I was already doing elite long jump, so the changeover happened naturally. I didn’t ask myself the question. We adapt the discipline to the handicap, not the other way around. So it is possible. I only stopped sprinting because with age I was less efficient.
What has blindness changed in your sports practice?
We must already run straight. Try for about twenty meters blindfolded, you will see that it is not easy! There are quite a few athletes who go wrong. You have to trust yourself and be a bit of a daredevil. I need a guide too. He accompanies me to every competition. He positions himself at the end of the corridor and it’s up to me to concentrate to hear the “clap”, the signal to move on. That’s why the spectators have to be quiet, so that we can hear the “clap”. The stands stop all sounds for a minute and, there, we jump. It is the opposite of the valid ones.
Does the guide also help you to jump at the right time?
No, I don’t need help with that. I count the first strides and, afterwards, my body instinctively identifies itself. I know immediately if my jump is successful. On my eyes I have medical patches and, in addition, we have opaque glasses to put everyone on an equal footing. But we are sensory. I feel the space, the vibrations, the wind. My hearing is very developed. I hear all the conversations on people’s phones, for example. In the bus, the tram, I hear everything. At night, it gives me a headache.
You have been a high-level athlete both in able-bodied and disabled sports, which is rare. What differences do you notice?
Even if we adapt the discipline to the handicap, we provide much more effort than a valid one, necessarily. Because you have to get used to the material. It takes perseverance, but we have no choice, we have to move on. It’s a question of the mind. There are some for whom it is too hard. The other difference is the friendly ties between us. We have values, a lot of solidarity, whereas the able-bodied are quite individualistic I find.
Why you think ?
Because there is less money in disabled sport. It changes everything. Even if, be careful, given the performances, the media coverage, the money also arrives in disabled sport. I hope it doesn’t go to your head. I know some people think they’re a bit of a cador. We must never forget where we come from. We can go down very quickly.
Has the media’s view of disability sport changed?
At first, they saw people with disabilities playing sports. Now they realize that we are athletes with a disability. The Paralympic Games are much more exposed than at one time. And now the media are also interested in the world and European championships. It’s good. At the Athens 2004 Paralympics, I remember that there was only French media covering the event daily. Now there are almost ten.
Are the means devoted to disabled sports up to par in France?
Yes, I am feeling better. But if it hadn’t been for the Games in Paris, we wouldn’t have had much. That’s what opened up the funding. And it happened late when the designation of Paris was made in 2017. I hope it will continue in this direction after 2024. We often think that we are the best in France but there are still countries where it works much better: Germany, England, Northern Europe, South Africa… Countries where the athletes turn professional very early.
Yet you have been a professional since 2008 too…
It’s because I have a track record that I was offered a contract. Otherwise, I would have had nothing, to be honest. I work part-time for the federation and the Ministry of Sports as an athlete and also part-time Semitan (Nantes public transport company) as project manager. We are not many in this situation. We must be six athletes to live serenely from our sport. By comparison, most able-bodied athletes are liberated. The public does not know that we galley like that.
What do you think the 2024 Paralympic Games will be like?
I think it will be beautiful. There may be more people at the Paralympics than at the Olympics. The box office that will open in the fall will be much more affordable. Tickets will be 15 euros, the pack will be a maximum of 200 euros. Not 3,000 euros as we have seen for the Olympics, anything. It has to be a party.
Will this be your last Games?
No athlete would want to miss the Games on home soil. But, then, yes, I will stop the high level. I will be almost 54 years old. I am the only one of my age in French athletics. Even if I remain seasoned, I have to pay attention to my health.