Olympic athletes on the Mer de Glace to draw attention to global warming

They are more accustomed to stadiums, athletics tracks or swimming pools, but this week about ten professional athletes went to the glaciers of the Mont Blanc massif to experience the reality of global warming.

“High-level sport is far from exemplary in limiting this phenomenon,” says Martin Thomas, Olympic kayaker and canoeist (5th at the Tokyo Olympics), at the instigation of this study tour titled “Sport for the Future” . “For example, we fly too much. Therefore, we must change the mentality. Today we walked on the glacier in crampons, touched it, saw the ice melt… It is a much more memorable experience than a simple conference. The awareness is getting stronger.”

“Athletes can inspire people”

Athletes in attendance include Montpellier rugby player Fulgens Ouedraogo, diver Benjamin Offret (4th at the Rio Olympics), as well as contenders for the Paris 2024 medals such as fencer Faustine Clapier or Naile Meignan in rock climbing. “Seeing all this mass of ice over Chamonix and hearing how glaciologists explain that it will disappear on a human scale, it encourages us to put in more effort,” agrees the climber.

Next to her is trailrunner Xavier Thevenard, a multiple winner of the Mont Blanc ultratrail and who has publicly declared that he will no longer fly: “Outstanding athletes are part of the problem of global warming. On the other hand, because athletes are widely covered on social media and are very popular, they can, on the contrary, inspire people to reduce their carbon footprint by adopting more respectful behavior towards the environment. »

Next year, Sport for the Future will take place after the Paris Olympics to attract more stars and spread its message even wider. “We could welcome Leon Marchand or Teddy Riner,” hopes Martin Thomas. They were interested in the project this year, but it didn’t fit into their schedule. »