Fond of watching events on television, the residents of Parc de Vinci also try to maintain regular sports practice to better cope with old age.
In the entrance hall, it’s hard to miss the colorful balloons forming the Olympic rings. Or the posters along the corridors and even in the elevator, which remind the absent-minded that since July 26, the events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have been broadcast in the common room. This event, the residence Domitys – Vinci Park in Amboise (Indre-et-Loire) intends to live it 100%. Especially since a torchbearer is among the 120 seniors who live there.
At the age of 99, Daniel Rebiffé had the honour of holding the Olympic torch in his hometown of Etampes (Essonne). It was on 22 August, 200 km away. “Since then, he has been giving interviews and never lets go of the phone.”smiles Elodie Janière, director of the establishment. When he opens the door to his apartment, the retiree panics: he hasn’t yet put on his Olympic relay outfit. He apologizes, disappears into his room, and comes back to the living room with his outfit and a few anecdotes to boot.
“My biggest fear was not being in shape or suffering from colic”he confides. For three weeks before his performance, he examined himself every morning and tried to walk as much as possible to practice. “Without a cane or a walker”he recalls with pride. Two days before his relay, he went on a diet, focusing on “easy foods”. A preparation that paid off on the day: Daniel managed to cover a greater distance than the 200 meters initially planned.
“Of course I criedconfides the resident. Everyone was shouting my name, there were young people everywhere, it really got to me.” Especially since the former athlete can boast of having brandished two torches. “I had already carried the flame in 1948, before the London Games”he says. At the time, his sporting commitment to the Republican Guard had earned him a place “with 25 guys in two buses” to transport the Olympic fire 600 km across France, from the Swiss border to Luxembourg.
Seventy-five years later, he still has the torch, which he places on the coffee table to reach for the remote control. “Do you mind if I look at the mountain bike for a bit?”he apologizes, his eyes already glued to the television. On the screen, the French cyclist Victor Koretzky has just been overtaken by the British Tom Pidcock. “But it’s not possible !exclaims Daniel. Did he push him or something?” The tricolor battles, but finishes the race second. Daniel decides to go watch the medal ceremony on the ground floor, in the residence’s TV room.
Comfortably seated in the yellow and blue armchairs in the living room, Catherine, 87, and Jean-Lou, 75, are on the lookout for medals. “We have a beautiful afternoon ahead of us”rejoices Catherine, a retired teacher. On her podium, she places sword sports at the very top. “I did it for several years”she recalls. That’s good, because it’s the turn of the Frenchwoman Sara Balzer to compete in the sabre semi-final – qwhich she eventually won in an outpouring of joy. “Oh my, that’s beautiful!”reacts Catherine surrounded by her friends. Behind them, the Scrabble players frown in this Olympic hubbub.
“The Olympics are the inevitable topic of conversation in the corridors”underlines Jean-Lou, who says he has “adored” the opening ceremony on July 26. Every day, this retiree from the medical-social sector “put your head in” to see if there are any tests that interest him, and if there are people to watch them. “When I get hooked, I can stay for a while”explains the man who was captivated by the decorations for the horse riding at Versailles, or even “quiet power” of the swimmer Léon Marchand.
If she could have attended an event, Catherine would have bought a ticket for the women’s high jump, a discipline “of total elegance”. Jean-Lou, for his part, would have liked to have been in the stands during an athletics sprint. They are interrupted by the victory of the French judoka Sarah-Léonie Cysique, who has just won bronze. “Well done, she fought well!”the small group agrees.
Around the television, giant medals were hung on the wall, “a production of the creative workshop of the residence”explains Catherine. Enough to keep sports fans entertained for the next ten days. “Watching these athletes who give their all, who have prepared for four years, it motivates, it’s one of those things that does you a world of good.confides the retiree. We share a piece of their Olympic dreams.”
Beyond the joy felt, “Sport is not only experienced on television” for residents, insists Jean-Lou. He regularly cycles in the establishment’s small gymnasium. For her part, Catherine gets into the water as soon as she can, “always gently”Both are in awe of the prowess of Colette, their 101-year-old neighbor, “who does five laps of the park every day, around 3:30 p.m.”. Or that other retiree, whose first name they no longer remember very well, but who is “almost all the time jogging or swimming”.
“I would like to play volleyball again, but it is no longer possible”regrets Jean-Lou, after having hit the ball over the net for almost fifty years. The sports chosen by the seniors of the Le Parc de Vinci residence are more individual, and less demanding on the body. “At our age, we especially want to avoid falls, Catherine repeats. It is the leading cause of hospital or nursing home admissions here, well before Alzheimer’s…” Next to her, Guy, 89, can only nod. This is his fourteenth fall in two years. “The terrible thing is that we see ourselves falling, but we can’t do anything.”laments this retired car driver, passionate about handball and rugby. The last time, he got away with an injury to his left arch.
That morning, at the residence, a prevention workshop has just taken place. “It’s very important, we wouldn’t want to miss the Olympics.”jokes Guy, while falls are responsible for more than 10,000 deaths of elderly people in France each year. A former cross-country enthusiast, he remembers seeing athletics legend Alain Mimoun during a race in Paris in the 1950s. “Even though I can’t run anymore, I love sport and especially seeing new champions emerge”he proclaims.
In this Olympic period, everyone has their own project to stay in shape. While Jean-Lou would like to take up a team sport again, Guy emphasizes that his small informal billiards club “has grown from two to six members”. Catherine is involved in chair yoga. “Don’t think it’s relaxing, you can feel like you’ve worked after the session!”she defends. As for Daniel, he pursues several goals at the same time: to beat his family’s longevity record, “that of my father, who died at 102 years old”, get your hands on the very rare vermilion one franc stamp for “finally complete” his collection… And perhaps make an appearance at the next Summer Olympics, scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028: “If they pay for my plane tickets, I’ll go!”assures the still very active retiree. After all, he will not have “that” 103 years old.