The young Millavois will try to win his first French parkour champion title this weekend.
Twist, jump, chain jumps. Elio Verdonck is not shy when it comes to performing tricks and does not force his talent. Even for a photo shoot. The young Millavois has parkour running through his veins. Having overcome his shyness, he speaks with passion about his discipline which still lacks media coverage. While Millau vibrates to the rhythm of the Natural games, he is in the Paris region to try to win the title of French champion in speedrun and freerun, two parkour disciplines (read box).
Freerunning specialist
He prefers freerunning, a test which consists of moving around a park with several pieces of apparatus and performing the best possible sequence of challenging figures which follow one another in a fluid manner. “We have to create a line between 20 seconds and a minute, we discover the park thirty minutes before the passage, it requires improvisation and adaptation”, details the miracle. At the end of the passage, it is the judges who decide according to well-defined criteria (difficulty, fluidity and achievement).
Parkour urban discipline
It’s a brand new discipline from gymnastics which arrived a few years ago. SOM Hirondelle was quick to get up to speed and open a section for which the results quickly arrived. The sport born on the streets involves overcoming obstacles in style and some tricks have been integrated into the routines. Now under the auspices of the French Gymnastics Federation, it should make its debut at the 2032 Olympic Games. It’s not tomorrow, but already in the back of Millavois’ minds. If he studied at SOM and gives lessons there, he is licensed in Marseille, in one of the best structures in France. This allows him to participate in training courses and meet the best young people in his discipline.
The other discipline, freerunning, is timed and requires agility and speed. Only the time counts. Here, it is rather Mathis Delpuech, a friend from Millau from the Hirondelle gang who has made it his specialty. However, Elio is not afraid to show his ambition: “first place in both events”, he smiles.
The first somersaults at 9 years old
His chances are real. At 15 years old, he has four years of practice at SOM Hirondelle behind him. “I did my first somersaults when I was around 9 or 10 years old, on the beach with my father, he comes back. I did a backflip and I loved it. Then I learned the backflip, I dreamed of doing one because it’s the iconic figure.” And he never stopped spinning in the air, in the streets of Paulhe, where he lives, or on his mini trampoline, ideal for learning.
Midi libre – Maxime Cohen
More than the modest gym in Millau, Elio Verdonck also caught the eye of the organizers of Fise, the benchmark for urban sports in Montpellier. “There is a World Cup round, you have to be one of the best French people to take part, this year I was too young but next year I will be able to”, he continues.
Training in the garden
For now, he is refining his movements in his garden, under the admiring gaze of his father, Eric. Under the boards, the lawn bears the traces of the gym mat and the other modules are not far away. “First he tries indoors, then on the floor, grass to finish on the hard court”, describes the father. There is no shortage of spots. From Paulhe to Millau via Aguessac on the other side of the Tarn, there are many expanses of grass. Perhaps a natural park would be missing to complete the street workout spaces already in place. Which could certainly happen in the years to come, and why not with the help of the Natural Games? A dream to be able to show the extent of one’s talent at home.
