In this Yvelines prison, inmates and staff unite for a sporting challenge

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It is a resilient testimony that Estelle Marsa-Galant, Olympic paravolleyball player, delivered to the women's remand center (Maf) in Versailles (Yvelines).

Challenge: run for an association

A meeting that came to an end a week dedicated to Olympism in the prison, in which the inmates, but also all the workers and guards, participated.

Between November 4 and 8, 2024, the challenge was launched to cover the greatest number of kilometers on a treadmill for the benefit of the Second Breath association.

In total, more than 500 km were covered, allowing us to donate 7 100 euros thanks to sponsorships from the Red Cross, the Lions Club and the Léo Lagrange association.

A song, a slogan

“It was a special week, everyone was motivated, there was a lot of singing,” rejoices Aude De Lombares, local head of education at Maf. With the inmates, the teacher also worked writing a songwith a slogan “Hands tied to win”.

“It was strange to see the supervisors in street clothes. We all came together around this project. On a human level, it brought us together and also showed that we are not just inmates. »

The latter also questioned a lot Estelle Marsa-Gallant on his practice of paravolleyball and his journey.

It was after an accident and a long period of depression and acceptance that Estelle Marsa-Galant, mother of four children, became an athlete. “I discovered paravolleyball by chance, through a friend who wanted to get me out of my isolation,” she says. It took me a long time to accept, to ask for help. »

First Paralympic Games in Paris

In 2019, she joined the French paravolleyball team and participated in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games; it was the first time that France presented a team in this discipline, said the athlete.

“We knew we wouldn’t win. But it still allowed us to progress. We grabbed some the experience. »

And Estelle Marsa-Galant praises the notions of mutual aid, strength of the collective. Which is exactly what the inmates felt during their Olympic week. But also another message: “In life, we will all have an obstacle to overcome. I did it through sport. And I won't go back to the Estelle of before for anything in the world. »

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