A month after the end of the Paralympic Games, Claudine Llop-Cliville remains faithful to “her gold medalist”, Aurélie Aubert. The boccia champion owes a lot to her coach who lives near Dreux. Confidences of the one who cultivates friendship and sporting standards.
From the discretion of a treatment room, she found herself in the spotlight in places teeming with people, where cheers and music resonate, at the heart of the Paris Paralympic Games, alongside Aurélie Aubert. Residing in Ouerre, near Dreux, former nurse at the Mallet Foundation, in Richebourg (Yvelines), Claudine Llop-Cliville supervises the performances of the gold medalist in boccia, pétanque played with leather balls. This title is the fruit of long years of work, listening and kindness. A beautiful golden story.
Claudine, what have you been doing since the end of the Paralympics?
I manage Aurélie’s requests. It’s huge! I decline absurd things like participating in a foie gras day. I have the impression that people want to appropriate a “piece of Aurélie” to promote themselves. So I do a lot of sorting and I keep what seems important to me for her, that is to say sporting activity. I don’t want the demands to interfere with his training. Notoriety is sometimes heavy to bear. Aurélie and I are not looking for light. We are shadow people. This is what allowed us to reach the highest level.
When will sport regain its rights?
The season resumes on Wednesday October 16, we are participating in a regional event in Pont-Audemer (Eure) qualifying for the French championship. Aurélie, who is attached to the Wind 27 disabled sports club in Vernon, trains in Verneuil-sur-Avre (Eure).
What will you remember from the Paralympics, this “enchanted parenthesis”?
Emotions, I can’t put it into words yet, it was so brutal. We really didn’t expect it. We both went to the Games to have fun. This was the aim of the seven years we had worked together. As soon as we learned about the organization of the Paralympics in Paris, I told Aurélie that I would accompany her on this journey. Until the end.
Guerschon Yabusele, basketball star back home in Dreux.
An image that you will keep?
When Aurélie extinguished the flame at the closing ceremony at the Stade de France, she felt a lot of emotion. She tells me that she has experienced extraordinary things.
Claudine Llop-Cliville in front of the Dreux belfry. “I retired from nursing and I’m living a new life with boccia that I discovered on the job. I sometimes play with Aurélie. This coaching activity is the logical continuation of my job as a nurse. J I’ve always been about sharing.
“Aurélie will go to Los Angeles. And I will be there, as long as I can”
Aurélie Aubert is aiming for the Paralympics in Los Angeles. Will you be part of the adventure?
Before Paris, Aurélie thought of stopping. Because on a financial level, it is an expense. For each international competition – 4 to 5 per year – preceding the Olympic Games, it must pay the sum of €1,000, the federation also contributes. Aurélie paid nothing for the Paralympics. This gold medal, accompanied by a bonus (80,000 euros for a gold medal, editor’s note), is a windfall which will allow him to continue to Los Angeles. And I will be there, as long as I can.
Can we say that you are more than a coach, a nanny, “a second mother”?
I don’t really like these terms. I’m with Aurélie for sport, even if I also take care of some other things. I give her the help she needs.
Is his performance a great way to raise awareness of Paralympic sport which has long been under-publicized?
After his medal, there was an increase in registrations in boccia clubs. That’s a plus. Before, many people did not know that a person with neurological disorders could play sports. It should be remembered that boccia was created for people with severe disabilities. We can therefore move forward, do things. This is what Aurélie wants. It is important to first see Paralympic champions as high-level athletes.
The Olympic flame passed through Dreux.
“We don’t need to talk”
When did you meet?
When I was a nurse at the Mallet* foundation, in Richebourg, near Houdan, (Yvelines). Aurélie was 12 years old. Attached to the challenge, I always thought that sport was beneficial, even necessary. This forces patients to surpass themselves. When I was asked to supervise sports groups during competitions, I accepted. And then one day, in 2017, Aurélie, who had just been ranked internationally, needed an assistant. I was offered the job, saying: “Try it, we’ll see”.
There is a real bond between you.
We don’t need to talk to each other. I already know what she’s going to do when she picks up the pétanque balls. When she plays, I play with her. When we train, I ask her what she plans to do. And at matches, we no longer need to talk to each other. We contact each other every day. If we don’t see each other in training, we call each other by videoconference. We get along well, but that doesn’t stop me from having sporting demands. I’m not going to overprotect her just because she’s disabled. When you are at the high level, there are demands to accept.
The Olympic flame also passed through Ouerre.
For you, is this a new career?
I retired from nursing and am living a new life with boccia that I discovered on the job. I sometimes play with Aurélie. This coaching activity is the logical continuation of my job as a nurse. I have always been into sharing.
Has she ever practiced boccia in Ouerre, where you live?
No, it’s me who’s going to meet him. Perhaps one day she will come to the Dreux region. For requests, I’m the one in charge!
*Establishment welcoming children and adolescents with disabilities, partly due to cerebral palsy.
Collected by Olivier Bohin
