Raid Amazones: Meeting the “Wild Sista,” two sisters taking on Sri Lanka

From November 1st to 11th, Alexia and Ambre Barthélémy, two adopted residents of Maralpin, will participate in the Raid Amazones in Sri Lanka. They will face other women in daily sporting events. An adventure that goes far beyond the sporting aspect since the two sisters are supporting the association Act for Women’s Heart through the event.

Alexia and Ambre Barthélémy are both preparing to face a challenge that could well change their lives. On Sunday, November 1st, the “Wild Sista” will begin the Raid Amazones adventure in Sri Lanka. For ten days, they will compete against other 100% female teams from across France. On the agenda, trail running, cycling, archery and canoeing, there’s no time to get bored in this extraordinary sporting and human adventure.

Created and organized by Alexandre Debanne, Raid Amazones has been taking thousands of women around the world since 2001. From French Guiana to Bali, from Kenya to Cambodia, passing through Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, each edition is based on the same DNA: sport, adventure, discovery, sharing and self-surpassing.

As the big departure approaches, the two sisters share common objectives, but different life paths. On the eve of her 30th birthday, Ambre Barthélémy, the younger of the two sisters, reflects on their preparation, their ambitions, and their perspective on this crazy experience.

You are about to participate in Raid Amazones, how did the idea of taking on this challenge come to you?

“We quickly wanted to participate in this event. I think I told her about this idea after seeing videos of Raid Amazones online. Alexia is 12 years older than me, she’s an older sister who doesn’t do things halfway. Every time I send her something like that, a pretty funny idea, she goes for it, fills out the paperwork and takes me along with her. It immediately made sense for us to share this together, as sisters, and the closer we get to the big departure, the more this becomes clear.”

Are you used to this type of challenge, or is it something new for you?

“On this scale, it’s definitely new for both of us, even though we each do sports on our own. I set myself sporting challenges fairly regularly, I’ve been trail running for four years now. But it’s true that this will be different, we learned archery and canoeing for the occasion, all of that is a bit more about discovery. For Alexia, it’s something else entirely because she has had a leg injury since childhood, so she practices cycling and running less regularly than I do. Despite this injury, I know her, she has the strength and ego needed to see it through. We’ve been able to do some trail runs and a hyrox together in recent months, I know that we’ll both be able to push ourselves to the maximum.”

Before departure, did you have the opportunity to meet former or future Raid Amazones participants?

“It’s funny because during one of our trail runs, we met two girls wearing Raid Amazones T-shirts who participated in 2021. They were able to share their experience with us, and one thing led to another and we realized that many Amazones had participated since the event was created in 2001, even around us in the Nice region. The spirit of generosity among participants is quite incredible. Every time we were able to chat with Amazones from previous years, they offered to lend us equipment, extra T-shirts, a hydration pack. It’s very nice and very touching to feel integrated into the Amazones family even before the event.”

Concretely, how is the event organized on site?

“For equipment, we only take what can go on a plane, namely running gear, a helmet and a bike pump in case of puncture. The Raid Amazones organization takes care of transporting the rest, the canoes, paddles, bows, etc. We stay in the same hotel for the ten days, chosen by the organization, in shared rooms with other teams, which also helps strengthen bonds. Every day, we’ll wake up between 4am and 5am, to be able to get to the events early. Then, in the afternoon, there’s also a whole cultural and charitable component with the Sri Lankan population, including distributions of school supplies in schools for example. It’s a real human adventure, not just a sporting one.

You chose to highlight the association Act for Women’s Heart. Why this choice?

“With Alexia, we decided to support an association that is particularly close to our hearts: Act for Women’s Heart. This association promotes the prevention of cardiovascular diseases in women. Unfortunately, it’s one of the leading causes of death in women, and it’s too often overlooked. We thought Raid Amazones was the perfect event to highlight this organization. Many participants are mothers, sometimes retired women, who have spent much of their lives not taking care of their health through sport. Thanks to Raid Amazones, we can bring attention to this association, raise awareness about this cause that is close to our hearts, and promote the fact that through sport, we can stay healthy and reduce the risks associated with cardiovascular diseases.”