The Olympics are a chance to see athletes excel in their sport and come together, regardless of their origins or religions. It is essential to be able to transmit these values.” When discussing the Games, French swimmer Coralie Balmy is full of anecdotes. She participated in the Olympics in 2008, 2012, and 2016, and cherishes the memories.
“I remember the Olympic Village, where we saw groups of athletes gathering around stars like sprinter Usain Bolt or basketball player Kobe Bryant,” she describes, amused. “I will also never forget the day I won my Olympic medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay,” she continued. “It was beautiful to share this victory with my teammates and to elevate our sport as a team.”
Now retired from her swimming career, Coralie Balmy is an ambassador for Terre de Jeux for the 2024 Paris Olympics. She interacts with young people and visits schools in the designated municipalities with the aim of transmitting her love for sports. “I want to show children and teenagers that it is possible for them to aspire to a competition like the Olympics, that it is not out of reach, and that they have the right to try,” she says. “To spark their curiosity, I show them my Olympic medal and share my experience.”
And Coralie Balmy has plenty of experience. As a member of the Montpellier Swimming Club, the former swimmer was part of the French team from 2006 to 2016. Besides the Olympic bronze, she won over 30 medals at the French Championships and was a four-time gold medalist at the European Championships. In 2013, she won a bronze medal in the 4×200-meter relay at the World Championships in Barcelona.
This passion for swimming began in preschool. At the age of 4, Coralie Balmy participated in her first competitions, which she saw as “a life-size game, where the goal is to come first.” With her family, the young girl watched the Olympics on TV, and she immediately loved the playful side of sports, she assures.
Coralie Balmy now shows young people how to have fun while engaging in sports activities. The ambassador participates in water-based activities organized by schools. “I have already taken part in rowing and swimming initiations with some classes,” she continued. “The goal is to raise awareness among students about maintaining health through sports.” The athlete also highlights the Paralympic Games. “In one of the schools I visited, we worked on a project about the Paralympic Games with drawings, creating a questionnaire, and imagining an adapted cross,” she details.
Originally from La Trinité, Martinique, Coralie Balmy primarily works in the overseas territories. “In Martinique, Guyane, and Guadeloupe,” she lists. She is committed to bringing the Olympic experience to these regions. Recently, she visited the municipality of Marin, Martinique. “The young people I meet there know that the event will mainly take place in Paris and it seems far away to them,” explains the Terre de Jeux ambassador. “I want to make the competition more tangible for them, for example by reminding them that the Olympic flame will pass through the overseas territories on June 17. I hope to create a connection between them and mainland France.”
For the former swimmer, the mission of Terre de Jeux is essential: “I am delighted that this initiative helps to create a dynamic around the Olympics in the overseas territories and to unite a dedicated community in these departments.” After this summer’s Games, she even plans to continue raising awareness among the new generation about water sports. She has founded an association, “Coco an dlo,” which aims to reconnect children with the sea while encouraging them to protect the environment.
