Princess Charlene of Monaco opens up on how sport shaped her life
In Paris, Princess Charlene gave a lengthy interview in which she looked back on her career as an athlete © Communications Department
In a lengthy interview held in Paris, Princess Charlene recounted her career as a top-level athlete and offered a behind-the-scenes look at a life shaped by sport.
It was at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, alongside her father, that Princess Charlene grew up to the rhythm of the Springboks. In an interview published on Sunday 15 March by L’Équipe, she confides that rugby is much more than just a sport to her: “In South Africa, where I grew up, this sport is a religion in the sense that it brings people together.”
The 1995 World Cup, won by the Springboks under the watchful eye of Nelson Mandela, remains a defining moment for her: “The 1995 victory worked a miracle.” A conviction that led her, on Friday evening in Paris, to attend the solidarity gala organised by Provale, the union for professional rugby players, whose cause she actively supports: “Life after a career is a difficult time for many players who struggle to re-enter the world of work. This association does remarkable work in supporting players after their careers.”
Becoming an Olympian
Before becoming Princess of Monaco, Charlene Wittstock was a top-level swimmer, specialising in the backstroke. She describes in detail the relentless daily routine she endured: “We’d get up at four o’clock. By five in the morning, I was in the water.” Commutes, twice-daily training sessions, homework in the evenings – a routine repeated six days a week, right up until the Sydney Olympics in 2000. But she also speaks of a deep wound: her failure to qualify for Athens in 2004, following a change in criteria decided by the South African federation. “Four years of work gone in an instant, when it was supposed to be the pinnacle of my career,” she confides, adding modestly: “The sun still shines, but the scar remains.” ”
Princess Charlene celebrates respect and rugby at Collège Charles III
Patron of an educational project
As patron of the Sainte-Dévote Rugby Sevens Tournament, Princess Charlène will welcome teams from some twenty countries, all made up of children under the age of 12, to the Stade Louis-II on 20 and 21 March. “It is first and foremost an educational project,” she emphasises.
Learning to swim, first aid, and for some children from the Cape Flats in South Africa, the experience of travelling: the event goes far beyond the sporting arena. “ Rugby serves as a hook for teaching essential skills. As soon as they arrive, the children head to the pool: if they can’t swim, we offer them lessons. The participants come from very different backgrounds”. To conclude, Princess Charlene states that, in her view, sport must never lose its soul: “It seems to me that sport should never lose sight of the notion of pleasure and joy.”