By Mamy Yves Ratsimbazafy – Published on 17 Nov 2024 at 12:30
David Douillet recently revealed new secrets about his exceptional physique during an interview broadcast on France Télévisions. It must be believed that things have not always been the easiest for the double gold medalist at the Olympic Games in Atlanta and Sydney.
At just 11 years old, David Douillet was already 1.80 meters tall and weighed 80 kilos. Unusual measurements for a child of his age. This physical precocity, which could have been perceived as an asset, was also a source of difficulties on a relational level. It must be believed that he showed a huge difference compared to the other teenagers in his class: “
Girls, when they are teenagers, they never look at bigger people. It's really the heaviest thing, worse than having to find size 48 shoes or size 64 suits… How long is that? It's a tunnel from 14 years to 16 years, then it slowly starts to decrease. ».
David Douillet had a complicated adolescence
For David Douillet, adolescence was therefore a real ordeal that he had to go through. Fortunately, it was only temporary in the end: “Afterwards, the advantage is that from the age of 17-18, you will start to hit. In the 22-23-24 year olds, we catch up, the wheel turns! People think you are much older. In terms of the way you speak, the thoughts you make, you are younger than you appear… And people don't understand. The high level, since the age of 14/15, when I started, it's a great school. You understand who you are, you learn who you are, and you are in a major phase of acquiring fundamental principles that allow a project to be successful.
Life lessons that go beyond sport
The medals won by David Douillet on the tatami are therefore ultimately only part of his legacy. What he considers to be his real medal » is in reality invisible: these are the values acquired thanks to his career as a judoka. “ This is the real medal, because you keep this one all your life and it serves you all your life
“. Through his confidences, the former Minister of Sports reminds us that success is not measured only in terms of visible rewards. His trajectory is an inspiring testimony to how youthful obstacles can be overcome and transformed into sources of motivation.
