[LUM#5] My teacher, this champion

[LUM Magazine] - Published on May 9, 2017 in Science-Society, Sport

2010 European decathlon champion, Romain Barras is enjoying a new-found tranquillity, away from competition but never far from the track. At 36, the Calais native is enjoying his daily life as a teacher at theUFR STAPS and the simple joys of a leisure activity.

He has given 15 years of his life to what is perhaps the most demanding discipline in athletics: 10 events combining sprinting, long-distance running, jumping and throwing, all to be completed in two days and with a smile. If possible... Such is the daily life of the decathletes, the "strong men" as they are nicknamed, stadium gods who command respect. There are very few athletes capable of completing a 100-meter dash in 11 seconds, clearing 5 meters in the pole vault and sending the javelin flying over 65 meters ... " A very beautiful sport, in some respects. It's a beautiful sport, in some respects heroic, but a very demanding one that requires a great deal of commitment and self-sacrifice", sums up the athlete with the gentle gaze and physique of a Hercules.

A life of suffering and deprivation punctuated by intense joys, such as the day she was crowned champion in the summer of 2010 on the track at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona. A gold medal in the shape of the apotheosis of a career that has often been one of missed opportunities. In London 2012 and Rio 2016, the CREPS Montpellier resident twice missed out on the great mass of the Olympic Games, although he did taste the flavour in 2004 and 2008, finishing^4th in Beijing. The end of his career was disrupted by stubborn pubalgia, which kept him away from competition for a long time.

Unfortunately, the 36-year-old decided to hang up his spikes, putting an end to a career that began in 2002. The time then came for retraining, a delicate period for any professional athlete. His path was clear: teaching. A second nature for this son of a PE teacher who now trains STAPS students in athletics and physical preparation. Romain Barras has been on part-time secondment for several years, and is now able to teach in full.

"Volleyball with friends

This second career has enabled him to reconnect with a personal life that had been put on hold, and which he is now happily rediscovering. " I now have the time to take care of my family, to go volleyballing with friends whenever I feel like it ...". It's also an opportunity to come to terms with a bruised body. " No longer aching at every step": already a victory for the man who has long been a regular visitor to the treatment room. Today, the member of Stade Olympique de Calais " runs a little " and sweats at CrossFit. Not so easy to lose the taste for effort. A rhythm that has nothing to do with the 8 to 10 weekly sessions that have long been his daily lot.

Although he claims to have distanced himself from his sport, Romain Barras is keeping a close eye on a promising new generation. This new generation has a name: Kévin Mayer, silver medallist at the last Olympic Games after a breathtaking duel with American Ashton Eaton, a benchmark and legend in the discipline. With his angelic face and extraordinary physical abilities, he's the ideal poster boy for the French decathlon. " Behind Kévin, there are 4 or 5 athletes with great potential," he adds. These are athletes he regularly meets at the Pôle France decathlon center at the CREPS in Montpellier. It's a safe bet that this rather special teacher will inspire his heirs, who dream of one day stepping onto the highest step of the podium, just like him.

Key words : LUM#5, LUM Magazine, Portrait, Sport