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Editorial Alençon
Published on
Jan 26, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
He will have touched almost everything during his career. From swimming to football, triathlon, cross country, cycling and even cross-country skiing. At 78 years old, Jean-Pierre Camu, resident ofArçonnay (Sarthe), at the gates ofAlençon (Orne), is a former firefighter but also a sporty. And not just any one: rather the insatiable type when it comes to practicing this or that discipline.
Sportsman at all costs
Saturday January 25, 2025 marked an important date that he had checked off in his diary for a long time. It was, in fact, his last participation in the departmental cross of the Orne firefighters, in Gacé. The event already has 54 editions. He has 52 on the clock. An unrivaled loyalty, no doubt.
And, for his last race, he played it grand lord, while waiting for the colonel “not particularly equipped because in sneakers. I had the points. » On greasy and muddy ground, this was wise.
On Saturday, he presented “a prize to a young person from Mêle-sur-Sarthe”. The one who picked up the world champion cycling firefighters jersey, in June 1998, (exhibited at the Villeneuve-en-Perseigne Bicycle Museum), said he was “proud and honored”.
A jubilee at Le Mans in October
He “never won” the departmental cross country race, but often “placed 2nd or 3rd”. “I participated in two nationals, one in Évry, and one in Pau. On certain events, I managed to be in the six. » Jean-Pierre Camu, Youth and Sports gold medalist, confesses: “My greatest victories are those obtained by team. »
“The apotheosis, for me, will be my jubilee during the national congress of firefighters, from October 9 to 11, 2025 », at the exhibition center of the Mans (Sarthe). On this occasion, “my godfather will be Jean-Jacques Martelresponsible for the international and French coordination of firefighter cycling. »
-The reason for this choice? “On June 28, 1998, a few days before the world football title, I won the cycling world champion title in Murcia, Spain. And Jean-Jacques Martel was absent. »
He stays connected to Music
Although his career in the sporting world has just ended in Gacé, he has not, however, abandoned his other passion: music with the drum or the bugle. It is in Saint-Germain-sur-Sarthe that the former firefighter trains assiduously.
In his memories: the performance he performed in Paris, under the Arc de Triomphe. “It was with my music director, Michel Adam. Music, it is well known, softens morals. »
The one who was also French flag bearer at Château d'Oex (Switzerland) for an international competition recalls that he received, during a race, “the challenge of fair play” because he had provided aid, “with mouth-to-mouth and cardiac massage, to a competitor who had become unwell. »
On all grounds, Jean-Pierre Camu remains above all a firefighter.
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