CNSOF elections: towards a zero point? – The sports column of Mejdaline Mhiri – November 17, 2024

Tired of war, Sarah Ourahmoune threw in the towel. Too discouraging, too tiring, too hopeless too. Silver medalist at the Rio Games in 2016, the ex-boxer is nevertheless experienced in the pressure of the rings with 265 career fights, a record in France. After hanging up her gloves, the flyweight retained her determination to reach the highest echelons of power. Thus, in 2017, she joined the executive office of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, of which she then became vice-president, a role that she has also held for three years in her own federation.

For this new Olympiad which takes us straight towards a ceremony launched by Donald Trump in 2028, Sarah Ourahmoune intended to take a step forward by running for the position of co-president, in pair with Dominique Nato, currently at the head of the body. This was to take into account the shelling that it was going to undergo, particularly internally. On November 10, the 42-year-old announced she was withdrawing from the race. “I was the target of racist and sexist attacks: words like “the Arab on duty”, “housekeeper of the federation”, or even “the female dog of…”, not to mention anonymous messages from an incredible and deeply shocking violence”, she relates in a press release. “I am scandalized and deeply saddened. I discover with sincere pain that my sport, the one I loved so much, is going through a period of suffering that goes beyond simple rivalries. »

Crude violence, regardless of the level of support for his candidacy, and moreover against one of the only women aiming for the top of the pyramid. Estelle Mossely, head of the opposition list, advised him to file a complaint. The 32-year-old Cristolienne herself saw her list invalidated last Friday by the electoral operations monitoring commission of her federation for reasons she denounces. Estelle Mossely will file an appeal to be able to appear on December 14.

While we regularly hear that the absence of women in the highest positions is primarily the consequence of the absence of will on their part, here is what is happening to those who dare… Three months after the first Parity games in history, while all the Olympic federations of summer disciplines must renew their leaders, there are few women candidates out of the 35 concerned. If the law of March 2, 2022 aimed at democratizing sport in France makes parity lists mandatory at the national federal level, it is likely that in January, after the elections, only men will occupy the highest positions. When there are no legislative constraints, women disappear.