Paris 2024 Olympics: from Montpellier to Paris, the incredible journey of pistol shooter Clément Bessaguet

Clément Bessaguet dispose d’une vision exceptionnelle : 14 sur 10 aux deux yeux. MAXPPP – Sebastian Borowski

At 33, the Montpellier native is one of the big favorites in the Olympic speed, this Sunday in Châteauroux. A look back at his beginnings with his first coach Jacques Michel and his dad, Thierry.

Behind every Olympian, there is a little girl, a little boy, a passion, an old worn kimono, the smell of a locker room, the sweaty walls of a suburban gymnasium and an educator, a guide. You have to dig and sometimes get lost to get to the source.

Following in the footsteps of Clément Bessaguet, who is competing this weekend in the Olympic sprint (pistol, 25m), is first and foremost a treasure hunt. The shooting range where he started is still simmering in the same juice, hidden from view, on the heights of Montpellier.

Under the pine trees on the Mende road, young people regularly come to tag the walls to the sound of cannons. Inside, it's going off in all directions. There's no doubt about it, we're in the right place. The smell of gunpowder accompanies our last steps. A door opens. Jacques Michel is ready to draw.

Extroverted, open

“Ah Clément…” The treasurer of the shooting club was there on the first day. “It was in 2005, I had been training since 1998. He arrived one Sunday, at 14, smiling…” The teenager was then looking for a way to compensate for a knee injury, to to keep busy while waiting to return to football, his childhood love.

Thierry, the dad, Jacques, the former coach and the magic rule. D.M.

A family friend, whose daughter (Émilie Evesque) will participate seven years later in the London Olympic Games, makes the connection. The rest is history. “He started with a rifle, remembers his father Thierry, also an influential member of the Montpellier shooting club. We always start with the rifle. He grimaced. When it came to trying the air pistol at ten meters, his face lit up, a smile on his face."

For Jacques Michel, this choice is not random. "The rifle shooter is rather someone who is withdrawn. The pistol is more extroverted, more open." The spitting image of Clément Bessaguet. From these beginnings, the champion kept all the basics.

“Everything was very natural with him. His arm rose very quickly. You just had to watch your left shoulder”, deciphers the coach by exhuming the rule that is still used today to correct bad postures.
His first outing at 25m also left its mark. The cadet was unknown to the battalion when he arrived in Volmerange-les-Mines in the early morning. Bullets flew. In the audience, the parents spotted the UFO. Clément Bessaguet intrigued. How can a kid who is discovering the gun already give a lesson ?

Read also: VIDEO. Paris 2024 Olympics: "We tested it for you" Olympic speed with Clément Bessaguet, the Montpellier shooter

Even Jacques Michel can't believe his eyes. “Nobody believed it. Clément had already put his gun away after the qualifications, convinced he was eliminated. They went looking for him in a hurry because he had qualified. They took out the telescope, his bib… That day, he finished second in the French Championships (2008)."

7th in Tokyo

Since that day blessed by the gods, Clément Bessaguet, 33, has added six European titles, two world silver medals, several World Cup successes and a 7th place at his first Olympic Games, in 2021 in Tokyo.

In Châteauroux, where all the shooting events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are being held, Thierry, the father, and Jacques, the former coach, still hope to be amazed and cry with joy. The whole family made the trip. Even Nathalie, the mother, who usually can't stand watching her son on TV. Too much stress!

The 25m pistol (Olympic speed) qualification event takes place this Sunday, starting at 9 a.m., in Châteauroux, at the national center. If he qualifies, Clément Bessaguet will compete in the final the following morning. Jean Quiquampoix, Olympic champion in 2021 in Tokyo, will defend his title on this occasion. I subscribe to read more