Innès Allouache: “My heart will always beat for Montpellier”

Rowing as a Passion

She had a peaceful, sunny childhood, during which she was diagnosed as gifted and skipped several grades during her exemplary school career. “As a child and teenager, I wanted more than anything to become a physical education teacher. After earning my high school diploma with a rowing track, I enrolled in a sports science program, where I had to give up that passion because it wasn’t among the options offered to students. Looking back, I actually started weight training partly out of frustration!” she says with a laugh today.

At the Veyrassi University Sports Center, where she was training four to five times a week at the time, Innès Allouache quickly began outperforming her classmates. This was not an easy situation to handle back then, as sexism—only four girls out of 35 students in her class had chosen the weight training track—was compounded by suspicions of doping. “Since men are naturally stronger than us, some people attribute my performance to something other than my physical abilities and mental strength!” she says, still annoyed by it even today.

447.5 kilograms

No matter what the critics say—who, especially on social media, are relentless—Innès Allouache knows her worth and forges her own path with her head held high. For months now, the young athlete has been racking up successes and competing in international powerlifting events, even going so far as to shatter her own records. During the most recent World University Championships on July 25 in Tartu, Estonia, she claimed^first place on the podium in the under-84-kg category by lifting a total of 447.5 kilograms in a series of three lifts: a spectacular squat, bench press, and deadlift.

A performance that is now a source of pride for the young athlete, who is just 20 years old and sees this as an opportunity to raise awareness (a little) about her sport, which is often mistakenly confused with weightlifting. “My parents are torn between pride and worry right now. But the only thing I’m really at risk of is a bad case of tendonitis !” Innès reassures us with a smile. With upcoming competitions already on the horizon in Bordeaux and Belarus, Innès Allouache will soon join the Villepinte club , except when competing in university events.“My heart will always beat for Montpellier and my university!” insists Innès, who will proudly represent theUM at the next World University Powerlifting Championships in Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) in July 2020. A champion—and a beauty!

UM 's athletes are at the top of their game!

The University of Montpellier honors its medalists from the World, European, and French University Championships during an annual ceremony organized by SUAPS. Read the profiles of these champions who juggle the demanding dual life of being both a student and an athlete. Read all the profiles…