Oui c'est bon, Annette! French ace is doing it for the kids
Beaten by a barefooted kid and still happy...
When former athletes decide to “put something back into the sport” you normally have to cover your eyes and ears – as it invariably entails them wanting to hog the limelight, again. Enter former French great and two time World Champ, Annette Sergent.
As a 1980’s cross country stalwart and hero to many French school kids with aspirations in athletics, Sergent has put her might behind getting kids into running the “most basic of all athletics disciplines” as part of what the French Athletic Federation are calling National Cross Week.
Running from the 15th-25th of October it’s an initiative that aims to get kids running, with the emphasis is on the urban youth of France. Gérard Cambreling of the French Federation explains that “This most basic of all athletics disciplines is an excellent means, in fact, of getting everyone to move themselves by running and in natural surroundings.”
He goes on to say, “Since more often than not cross country is organised in natural spaces which are close to urban areas – parks, leisure centres and woods – the sport can become a means of re-appropriating these spaces for urbanites, children and parents alike, who are often unfamiliar with these resources or are completely unaware of their existence.”
Expectations are for almost 500,000 kids to take part in the 10 day festivities.
Full story here.
