Journal d’un Athlète

“This is it, the start of Olympic qualification. We’ve been preparing for this since the start of the season. From this competition onwards, and for a year, each competition will count towards the world ranking thanks to which the participants in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be designated.”

At the last Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, Enzo Lefort, a member of the French foil team, shone with his performances, the preparation for which he immortalised using his film camera. This series gave rise to Olympic Backstage, published by Fisheye Éditions in 2022.

In 2023, Enzo took up his camera again and documented the behind-the-scenes qualifying for the next Olympic Games: Paris 2024. Mexico, Korea, Italy, Japan, Egypt, Kuwait… over the course of a year, the athlete will travel to the four corners of the globe to try and win his precious ticket. Enzo’s view of his high-level competitions offers us an unparalleled immersion into the skin of a renowned foil fencer. The stakes are high, and so is the pressure. Through his images and writings, Enzo Lefort bears witness to the adrenalin that coursed through him as he prepared for the Olympics, but also to the intimate, behind-the-scenes aspects of a champion’s life.