Cléopatre Darleux has been reunited with the Brest (Finistère) handball team for a few weeks after a concussion in December 2022. The goalkeeper now has only one goal in mind: to return to the field in competition and then find her place in the French team and therefore participate in the Paris Olympic Games this summer. Alex Portal, para-swimmer (he suffers from a visual impairment, ocular albinism), continues training and swimming courses between Île-de-France, Lanzarote (Spain) and Portugal.
Both athletes have a track record as long as an arm and are known and recognized in their discipline. However, not being professional footballers or tennis stars, they do not have a significant financial margin. To prepare for the Paris meeting or even beyond, they need support.
“Yes, I am professional and in my sport – a team sport – having private partners is not necessarily an obvious thing but it allows me to approach my daily life more calmly, to publicize my practice and to prepare for after handball , underlines with great frankness and with a big smile the Brestoise. With Visa, I have been able to meet great people and I am less financially stressed. I know where I’m going. The hand is a steamroller. I stopped my studies after the baccalaureate and I have to think about tomorrow, even if I have a restaurant (Il Castello, at the port du Château, on the Quai Éric-Tabarly). »
Live, invest, think about tomorrow but also train ever harder and achieve your personal goals, realize the ambitions of a team. Multiple challenges for athletes and… businesses. “Visa is a long-standing and even historical partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it is within this framework that we have formed a team of athletes made up of six men and six women with six Paralympics and six Olympics”, specifies straight away Romain Boisson, the general director, who also established a partnership with the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance (Insep), nestled in the heart of the Bois de Vincennes in Paris.
Athletes supported around the world
If the brand plans to win places for Paris 2024 for people making purchases in partner stores with the “Les Paiements Gagnants” operation, the commitment goes even further. “Around the world, we support 117 athletes in more than 40 disciplines in total. Our goal is therefore to truly give these athletes access to our ecosystem, to allow them to meet each other, explains the manager. In their field, individual performance is the result of collective effort, and this is also true for us. I like the theme of small steps. Before participating in a marathon, you must learn to run. Resilience, hard work, knowing how to surpass yourself to be competitive, win and achieve your dreams are fundamental values. Athletes teach us life lessons. »
Romain Boisson, general manager of Visa France. DR.
For Alex Portal this type of partnership with a major player in the Olympic and Paralympic world is vital. Even if he has a string of titles or podiums in France and on the international scene, devoting himself fully to his practice requires a lot of investment, not only in time but also financially. “I live thanks to my sponsors, whether Visa, the National Sports Agency, the Yvelines department or the Île-de-France regional council,” the visually impaired swimmer freely admits. Without them, I would not have this stability which would allow me to prepare for the Paralympic Games and to be in the second year of engineering school at ESILV. »
In the water from 6 a.m., he does a series of laps before following his classes in person or by video – depending on the swimming courses – and returning to the pool at the end of the afternoon. Without help, he could hang up his jersey and towel and leave his sporting ambitions in the locker room.
“My goal goes even further than Paris 2024,” continues the young man. I would like to ensure that interest in Paralympic sports does not decline. Inclusion is important in our society and things must continue to move in the right direction. We absolutely must arrive at valid and invalid equality. »
Visa has also decided to go further in its investment by supporting, through the Pas Sans Vous program, young people from Seine-Saint-Denis to enable them to fully benefit from Paris 2024. “We have established partnerships with associations to promote integration through sport but also by renovating basketball or football fields which are used by hundreds of young people every week,” concludes Romain Boisson.
2024-02-28 01:09:32
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