Five more weeks without being able to sit down, months of rehabilitation that he has started to recover all of his physical capacities… But “everything is fine, I have zero pain”, says Cyrille Maret, who keeps his spirits up after the serious accident of which he was victim on Wednesday 14 October.
It is almost 5 p.m. that day when the 33-year-old judoka, a key member of the France team for years, jumps on his scooter and takes over the management of Insep, the champion factory located in the Bois de Vincennes. “I live in Champigny-sur-Marne, and I have 800 m of motorway to take, I have made this trip twice a day for fifteen years”, specifies the bronze medalist (- 100 kg) at the 2016 Olympics, licensed at the Etoile Sportive du Blanc-Mesnil (Seine-Saint-Denis).
He continues: “I was driving at 90 km / h on the A4, on the second lane and behind a truck which hides my visibility a little. I start to shift into the right lane to take Exit Number 4, glancing behind me to see if no one is getting full, then I look ahead again, and there a car behind. stop, down in front of me. I brake to the maximum, I try to avoid it but my right knee hits the left rear of the vehicle. The shock was quite violent. “
“I crawled to get aside”
He throws it “4-5 meters further on, onto the second lane. “Impossible for the multiple European medalist to get up while” vehicles in the distance are doing what is necessary to block traffic. “” I crawled to put myself aside, indicates the agent at the railway security at the Gare de Lyon through a high-level athlete convention with the SNCF. A lady, whose name I have not recovered and whom I thank so much, took care of me, took my pulse right away, stopped the bleeding on my thumb, even though I was conscious. The emergency services took me to Henri-Mondor hospital in Créteil, where I was diagnosed with a dislocation of my right hip. Under anesthesia, it was put back in place and I avoided the operation after the advice of the best specialists in Paris that the Federation contacted. We must now respect a time for healing. “
The medical supervision of the France team is now going to his home for the start of rehabilitation. Cyrille Maret gives himself two months to walk correctly, hopes to push back the carpet at the start of the year. And no question of putting aside the Tokyo Games (from July 23 to August 8, 2021) or of considering ending his career, as some media have suggested. “Never in my life, there are quite a few tournaments in March, April, May or June that will count towards the Games if the international calendar is maintained. I will come back stronger, and I will end my career with a great competition ”, assures the five-time champion of France who remains marked by what he has lived. “I was very scared,” he concludes. I also consider myself lucky because many two-wheeler accidents on the highway end badly! “
