Between two flights, moving from one meeting to another, juggling calls on his mobile like a switchboard operator from another era, Ivan Coste Manière, president of the Regional Olympic Sports Committee of the Côte d’Azur (which includes the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Var), remains a sports enthusiast, a vigilant leader, a promoter of sports culture, and a defender of its values.
Will the legacy of Rio lead to Paris 2024? From samba to the musette ball?
The Games can bring “this vital breath of social cohesion,” that’s his message for the future.
Nice Premium: While the overall performance of the French team is largely satisfactory, that of the athletes from the Côte d’Azur is rather sparse… What is your analysis and what lessons do you draw from it?
Ivan Coste-Manière: That high-level sport is tragic by nature, and it is up to each of us to respect the participants, especially when they do not triumph. Mortals are not Gods, and mistakes bar one from the podium. I particularly detest journalists who have turned “Olympic medals” into “trinkets.” The symbolic and emotional weight must be preserved, which is what our high-level athletes have managed to do brilliantly, and I would remember both our radiant medalists and our non-medalists who were sad or even in distress or suffering, like our friend Samir Aït Saïd, to whom I express all my friendship, admiration, and wish the quickest and most complete recovery to come back stronger.
As for our region, the 3 CREPS there constitute as many opportunities to prove that this “eclipse” I read about is simply a temporary decrease in medal numbers which are so random, and not a lack of level, structure, or support. From one Olympiad to another, everything can change with a few adjustments, as the example of Great Britain can testify. Therefore, the Regional Olympic and Sports Committee of the Côte d’Azur remains supportive but above all admiring towards our flag bearers.
Nice Premium: Can you tell us what were your greatest satisfactions and disappointments?
Ivan Coste-Manière: When I was (much) younger, a motorcycle accident prevented me from defending my chances in a major championship for which I was qualified. When I saw Samir, I relived that personal moment lost in the depths of my memories. The disappointment was experienced on three different levels: his, in symbiosis; mine, as a resurgence; and as a spectator. I spoke of tragedy, the “Olympic show” is a genuine Greek tragedy as its origin attests.
Another contagious disappointment: I have been a fan of my friend Laurent Tillie, coach of the French Volleyball team, for a long time. The man, the family, the selection… Everything around him is filled with respectable and admirable values. After wearing themselves out for months to achieve a magnificent qualification, being condemned to redo the same journey for the next Olympics is like the myth of Sisyphus. What Laurent or his President of the Federation, our friend Eric Tanguy, cannot quite say, I can: too many matches have worn out legitimate candidates for the title, no team from the qualifying tournaments could last through a long course, the selection process is unethical, complex and renders the competition more than uncertain. It is urgent that the International Federation modifies some unorthodox and trivial regulations… except for those principally concerned.
I will not talk about our handball team: the discussions I had with Claude Onesta 5 or 6 years ago are still in my head… Respect, admiration… So a mixed satisfaction of slight disappointment, especially for Adrien Dipanda…
And obviously satisfaction for our shooters, my fellow townsman Alexis Raynaud in the 50m rifle three positions and Jean Quiquampoix in the 25m rapid-fire pistol. Radiant for them, with all the most open prospects, and with Christian Bellenoue, the linchpin of shooting in the Côte for so many years, we bet on them 100 days before the Games and even during an interview on France Bleue Azur.
Among my satisfactions, our High-Level Sport swimmers who, thanks to agreements signed between DRJSCS, CROS CA, and SKEMA, were able to achieve both performances and… diplomas, not forgetting the swimmers and water polo players of ONN, including my student Michal Izdinsky, who managed to qualify France after 24 years and even beat the Olympic champions!
Nice Premium: Some former champions have demanded a role in the federal setup, particularly in swimming. What do you think about involving young retired athletes in managing federations without going through the traditional channel, clubs, territorial committees, etc.?
Ivan Coste-Manière: Nothing really new to me, and more than delighted if former athletes “re-enlist”… In the Athletics Federation, this has always existed, from our friends Michel Jazy to Stéphane Diagana. And for swimming, look at Alain Bernard’s level of involvement despite his medals… He still has as much vigor, passion, and desire to pass it on! For the rest, the “administrative” path demands a field approach, decentralized… so both pathways seem necessary and self-balancing to me, from one discipline to another, it will mostly be a matter of moderation!
Nice Premium: Can the media impact of the Olympics create a dynamic to encourage sports practice among younger generations?
Ivan Coste-Manière: As always, provided that the effect is not just a fleeting enthusiasm. Clubs, committees, and leagues are on the front line, and there, the “champions” should remember that often the so criticized Federations have nonetheless worked for them to become what they are. And returns on investment are rather rare… especially in over-media-covered disciplines.
Nice Premium: Can the organization of the Rio Olympics provide useful elements for Paris’s bid for 2024?
Ivan Coste-Manière: I believe so… especially regarding cost control, social and societal projects. The Olympics should never be merely the decision of a small oligarchy, but indeed a common dream, our “blue dream” of the CNOSF and all stakeholders, including the most ordinary citizen. They have symbolic content related to sustainable development, land use planning, equality of opportunity, and treatment of persons with disabilities…
And the televised broadcasting of the Games remains finally just the tip of the iceberg.
Rio has undoubtedly conveyed a strong message: the samba should have remained democratic, it takes two to tango, and Paris 2024 must cover a wide range of dances, from urban, musette ball and java, to bourrée… So that the whole solidarity world can find in the Paris 2024 Olympics this vital breath of social cohesion, this magnificent project which has always been the very essence of the Games when they are perfectly successful.
