Paris, France – 1 October 2016
IOC President Thomas Bach begins Paris visit at
France’s elite sports performance centre
The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Bid Committee today welcomed IOC President, Thomas
Bach, to Paris as he embarked on a two day visit to the French capital. To begin the visit, President
Bach was greeted by 400 athletes at France’s National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance
(INSEP) – the country’s flagship institution for elite sport.
Paris 2024 Co-Chairmen Tony Estanguet and Bernard Lapasset gave President Bach a tour of the stateof-the-art sports facilities at INSEP before the IOC President delivered a speech to the athletes.
President Bach was also shown around an athlete led exhibition illustrating the INSEP programme that
educates young sports people about athlete development, the challenges that come with being an
elite athlete and preparation for transitioning into employment once they finish competing. The IOC
President also took part in a Table-Tennis demonstration with Paris 2024 Sports Director and two-time
Olympic Medallist, Jean-Phillipe Gatien (Table-Tennis); Paralympic Gold Medallist, Arnaud Assoumani
(Athletics); and Volleyball player, Victoria Ravva.
Athletes’ present at INSEP for President’s Bach visit included; Double Paralympic Gold Medallist and
Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission Co-Chair, Marie-Amelie Le Fur (Athletics); Olympic Gold Medallist,
Renaud Lavillenie (Pole Vault); Olympic Bronze Medallist and Paris 2024 Athletes’ Committee Member,
Helene Defrance (Sailing); Olympic Bronze Medallist and Paris 2024 Athletes’ Committee Member,
Gwladys Epangue (Taekwondo); and Olympic Silver Medallist, Enzo Lefort (Fencing).
Also present were Frédéric Pietruszka and Bernard Talvard, Olympic Bronze Medallists who joined
President Bach on the podium when he won Gold in Team Foil Fencing in Montreal in 1976. The range
of sports stars present to welcome the IOC President, from the 1976 Fencers to Rio 2016 Champions
to young athletes who hope to represent France at Paris 2024, highlights the strong support for the
bid across all generations of the French athlete community.
Following the INSEP visit, President Bach attended a private dinner hosted by Mayor of Paris, Anne
Hidalgo.
Paris 2024 Co-Chairman and Triple Olympic Gold Medallist, Tony Estanguet, said:
“We are delighted to welcome President Bach to Paris to show him our wonderful city, our compact
Games plan, the French people’s love and passion for all Olympic sports and our vision for a thrilling
celebration of sport and Olympism in Paris and across France in 2024. This is another important
moment and great opportunity to learn more about how Paris 2024 can be a catalyst for the
promotion and growth of the Olympic Movement.
“We are thrilled to be here at INSEP to showcase the fantastic facilities that illustrate France’s
commitment to investing in sport. Sport is woven into the fabric of our community life throughout the
nation with grassroots, amateur and elite sportspeople participating daily via the many hundreds of
sports clubs in the city and across the country. Since 2000, France has also hosted more than 40 World
or European Championships in summer Olympic sports. Sport – and especially Olympic sport – is in the
DNA of Paris and France.”
Rio 2016 Silver Medallist in Fencing, Enzo Lefort, who also conducted a Fencing demonstration with
President Bach at INSEP, said:
“I am delighted that 400 fellow athletes are here today at INSEP to welcome IOC President Bach –
reflecting the strong support for the Paris 2024 bid among the sports community. Athletes are the
heart and soul of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and this is why the bid has made them the
architects of the bid – athletes know what it takes to compete at the highest level on the greatest
sporting stage.
“We are very proud of the integral role played by the athlete community so far and we will continue
to drive the bid forward with energy and enthusiasm as we aim to deliver an inspirational Games in
2024.”
-ENDS-
Note to Editors
About INSEP
Located in Bois de Vincennes in eastern Paris, INSEP has been training athletes and preparing them for
competition since 1945. In addition to the first-class sports facilities, the institution also features medical and
recovery centres and a scientific research unit that works in the fields of physiology, biomechanics, biology,
psychology and sociology to help understand the human body’s performance mechanisms, and to support
coaches in the development of their training programmes. Many athletes also reside and study on the INSEP
campus making use of the accommodation and educational facilities.
Since 2007, INSEP has been undergoing a major renovation phase, installing modern, sophisticated facilities that
are specially adapted to cater to the high performance requirements of global competition. The facility caters for
all Olympic sports and 21 of the record 42 French Medallists at Rio 2016 trained at the centre.
Images will follow shortly
For further information:
Raphaël Leclerc
Paris 2024 Bid Committee
Email: [email protected]
+33 6 73 16 88 06
Engage with the Paris 2024 bid here:
Website: www.paris2024.org
Twitter: @Paris2024
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Paris2024
Instagram: http://instagram.com/paris2024
Rob Fawdon
VERO Communications
[email protected]
+44 (0)7769 216 649