During a demonstration for the inauguration of the new Olympic pool in Seine-Saint-Denis, the French vice-world champion wallowed under the eyes of the President of the Republic.
Gold medal for the best fall. This Thursday, April 4, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Olympic Aquatic Center which will host the water polo and synchronized swimming events at the next Paris Games, French diver Alexis Jandard treated himself to a beautiful moment of solitude despite himself. When he stood on the jumping platform 3m high for a demonstration, the Frenchman lost his balance before falling with his back onto the board of the brand new pool, in front of hundreds of people and television cameras. All this, under the eyes of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who also came to attend the inauguration.
This is all the cruelty of the world of diving: although we may be vice-world champion (by mixed teams) and have jumped brilliantly hundreds of times, the general public will especially remember this anthological antics, which would nevertheless have could have finished badly and suffered an injury for the 26-year-old Frenchman, 16th at the last Tokyo Games.
It’s time to brag
A few hours after his bowl, the Frenchman returned to the episode in a “story” published on his Instagram account. “I want to reassure everyone, everything is fine, I didn’t hurt myself, there was a little blood but it’s not serious, it won’t stop me from training this afternoon,” he reassures first of all the one who already has his ticket for the next Parisian Olympics.
Before continuing, not without self-deprecation: “I fell in front of the president, I fell in front of the whole of France. Have fun, it’s time to brag because now I deserve to be crazy.” Video accompanied by a photo of his reddish back captioned: “I slipped chef”, in reference to the famous line of soldier Pithivier in the cult film The 7th Company.