The president of the Paris 2024 Games organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, estimates on Sunday January 23 on franceinfo that “Now is the time to act” on the lack of sport among young people, as Olympic and Paralympic week begins at school on Monday.
franceinfo: More than one in five teenagers is overweight, children have lost a quarter of their cardiovascular capacity in forty years, is this worrying for you?
Tony Estanguet: Yes, it is worrying. It’s even chilling. We are not very comfortable with these statistics, this global trend of a sedentary lifestyle which is gaining ground, which affects this generation of 2024. We are so keen, when we are going to host the biggest sporting event on the planet , that this generation can also benefit from the dynamics of the Games and do more sport. It will depend on the clubs, the parents, and just about everyone. We, the Paris 2024 organizing committee, also want to make our contribution.
How will this Olympic and Paralympic week be organized at school?
Schools, colleges, high schools and even universities, are invited to offer their pupils and students an above-average sporting practice so that we give the taste, that we can also meet the athletes. We have 200 French athletes who are going to be mobilized across the country, because now is the time to act.
Is the “30 minutes of regular physical activity” scheme launched by the Ministry of National Education a year ago, with 7,000 schools, encouraging?
This is really great news. All the studies show that it is at this age, between 5 and 10 years old, that it is necessary to act. Children need to develop a taste for physical activity. It is necessary that every day, according to the World Health Organization, we devote these 30 minutes if we are an adult and even an hour when we are a minor.
“A child who moves a little more is more focused when he returns to class. He eats better, he is calmer, he sleeps better at night, so it is also a virtuous circle that we are trying to promote.”
Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committeeat franceinfo
According to what comes back to us, 80% of the pupils do not do the three hours of PE in the program each week, because I think that the programs are loaded, it is complicated for the teachers to organize the weeks. It’s something that we need to improve. I am convinced that investing today in a little more physical activity will bring well-being and fulfillment to these children. If when we leave school, we say to ourselves that we may have inspired a child or two to play a sport, we have fulfilled our mission.