She had been sleeping in a closet for over twenty years. Awarded in 2002 by Marie-George Buffet, Minister of Sports at the time, “it was to have been given to me after the Beijing Olympic Games, by Henri Sérandour who died in the meantime… And since then I have not asked anyone” . Monday, November 11, Gérard Cousin finally received his gold medal for Youth, Sports and Community Involvement in Dinard.
“Despite sometimes our differences, particularly regarding the future of the swimming pool, we have a lot in common such as association sport, Dinard and mutual respect,” underlined Arnaud Salmon, the mayor who presented him with the medal at the following the ceremony on November 11.
A firefighter in Paris, then in Rennes, Gérard Cousin arrived in Dinard in 1967, at the time of the opening of the Olympic swimming pool. “With Henri Sérandour, we have always honored sports in all disciplines. On the edge of the pool but also handball with the Secular Association or boxing. We spent a lot of time helping others from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. We didn’t have schedules, but there was a terrible atmosphere and it was a joy to work in Dinard.”
Generous, available, and attentive to people, especially younger people, the recipient devoted a lot of his time to serving others. A fervent defender of maintaining the swimming pool, at 86 years old, Gérard Cousin never gives up. A few years ago, he still participated in swimming across beaches.
Today he remains a spectator of this sport which taught him so much and which he finds difficult to leave. Moved, he dedicated this recognition of a sporting life “to all the friends who are no longer here and who have accompanied me during all these years”.
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