Par
Gael Arcuset
Published on
Nov. 15, 2024 at 7:02 p.m.
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It's the keel. After years good and loyal service for several swimming clubs in Gironde, Patrick Ardurat is withdrawing from the pools.
He had been president of the Porpoises, the Langon club, between 1999 and 2017, before taking over the presidency of the Masters, in the process. A monument which bows out, see you soon 78 spring.
Awarded by the French Swimming Federation
The end of an era. Because for more than a quarter of a century, this swimming enthusiast will have marked with his imprint his discipline. All without ever starting a race, but rather managing all the side effects. An essential shadow figure.
Bronze medalist by the French Swimming Federation (FFN), Patrick Ardurat was awarded the silver medalSunday November 10, 2024. A great reward.
“Since I don’t know how to swim, I don’t swim in troubled waters”
And to think that he never really knew how to swim. Curious for a swimming club president, isn't it? But it would have taken more to unsettle Patrick Ardurat. He himself was the first to laugh at this 'anomaly' which made him so special and made him a UFO, as friendly as he was benevolent, at the edge of the pools.
The former mayor of Langon regularly teased him about his lack of aquatic skills. Response from the person concerned: “I have an advantage! Since I don't know how to swim, at least I don't swim in murky waters. ” And toc.
Patrick Ardurat had tried to take a dip in the pools. Without much result.
When I first started officiating, the pool opened very early. I went there at 6:30 a.m. and swam. I still got a 50 meter diploma
For the record: he had, all the same, found a way to slip like an eel at the time of the fateful diving event. A jump from the diving board, three meters high? Not for him. “I got into the water, without saying anything, and swam. The session is happening. At one point, I looked at the clock and said: 'Oh damn…, I have to go, it's time!' And I escaped it. » Clever.
Patrick Ardurat accidentally dives into the deep end
But then, how can this man, nothing predestined to invest in swimmingdid he manage to become passionate about this discipline? Quite simply by accompanying her daughter, Céline. “She joined the Marsouins club, in Langon, as a swimmer. For five years, I was a volunteer, then an official. And then, I took over the presidency. At the start of this adventure, however, I did not have any specific interest in swimming. »
“I yelled at Benjamin Fall”
Patrick Ardurat saw many swimmers passing through the water lines. Among them: Benjamin Fall, future professional rugby player, formerly with Racing 92, Montpellier and the XV of France. “A very talented boy who would have been a success in any sport,” recalls the former president of the Porpoises.
“When he left for Bègles, just before he exploded into the eyes of the general public, I told him that it would be good for him to continue swimming for at least one more year, but he didn’t listen to me . I yelled at him nicely,” smiles Patrick Ardurat.
His hobby, in this case, is rather oval. In the 1970s, Patrick Ardurat helped the local rugby club, Stade Langonnais.
“From now on, I will have more time to go see the matches,” he relishes, with a smile on his lips.
“Great encounters”
What does he remember from his years at Porpoises and the Langon Masters? “Beautiful encounters”, without a doubt.
But also the French summer swimming club championship, in Langon in 2007. “When I learned that we would be in charge of the organization, I almost choked. But it was really something great. The president of the Federation had also sent me a letter of thanks. »
At almost 78 years old, Patrick Ardurat will now be time for him. And he intends to swim in happiness.
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