He hung up his skates after the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018. But he didn’t put his passion aside. Today a trainer in the center of Berlin on the big track, the Malouin Alexis Contin brings his passion for his sport to life as a consultant for France Télévisions on these Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Olympic Games under a bubble
With the Covid, daily life on site is not necessarily the most pleasant, even if Alexis Contin says he adapted quickly: “I arrived on Thursday before the start of the competitions, with the consultants from France Télé. We had already had scouts so we knew the conditions that awaited us. So far it’s going pretty well. Inevitably, these are Games under glass, so it’s singular, but we are still happy. Especially for the athletes, so that they can express themselves, because I lived it and these are events that we prepare for, four, eight, twelve years, it’s the project of a lifetime! So much the better that these Games can take place.”
After the competition, then his role as coach, Alexis Contin discovers at 35 a new role as a consultant on television: “I really take it as a chance to introduce my discipline, and ice speed disciplines in general since I also cover short-track. I hope to be able to best convey the emotions I feel, and above all the beauty of these two sports which go at an incredible speed! There’s great suspense and so far we’re not disappointed, there were some great races the first three days.“
The one who had obtained a 4th place in the 10,000 meters in Vancouver in 2010, and who had finished on a disappointment in PyeongChang in 2018 says he does not regret the competition: “I don’t miss it. I think my heart will always beat for the competition… Inevitably, when I see former competitors who continue to be at the forefront, my heart sinks. But concretely, my body was really exhausted, I had a lot of physical problems, real health problems that meant that I no longer had the physical capacities to aim for an Olympic podium. I completely mourned and moved on, and I think I did it the right way: by stepping away from the slopes first, and not diving directly into the coaching role. I went back to school, I thought a lot about what I wanted to do. The passion is strong, and now I am really attracted by this desire to pass on and this need to serve this sport which has brought me a lot.”
Now exiled to Germany for his new life, Alexis Contin has not forgotten Brittany: he always monitors the tidal coefficients to find out if he can return to Saint-Malo during high tides!