A member of the Saint-Affrique athletics club, Claude Merle is a double French race walking champion. He is approaching 86 years old.
Charged with an intense vitality, Claude Merle speaks quickly. The passion for sport lives in his words when he talks about his need to train, to stay in shape. “After a sports outing, I feel good, happy, toned”. This almost 86-year-old athlete has always practiced physical activity. “As a child, I liked to run in the paths around Saint-Rome-de-Tarn.
If my father had known, I don’t think he would have liked it. However, this father who will live until the age of 99 liked to go to the banks of the Tarn, “teach us to swim”. Is it because of this education in the open air that young Claude became a member of the Montreuil club in the Paris region? “I had just arrived in the capital for work, I took up the practice of athletic walking”. Two sports licenses dated 1960 and 1961 attest to this commitment. “In sports, people talk. I like to add actions to it. These two licenses prove that athletic walking was part of my life before coming back to it much later”. Indeed, this return will be late.
“A few years ago, I was watching television. I saw a news report on veterans athletics noticing that some were competing in the race march. I tried to discover the minima to achieve to enter the major championships. I learned that it could be in my strings. Claude embarks on this adventure which today animates and transports him. “I marked out a path along the Tarn with markers every 500 m. I trigger my watch when I attack my workout. Every 500 m, I observe the time, I adapt my pace to what I have planned to do during the session”. A large cardboard calendar serves as a diary for Claude, who writes down his training sessions on the dates chosen according to his recovery days. On average, he trains at least twice a week.
Champion of France
Claude Merle thus became double champion of France in the 5000m and 10,000m. He is also vice-champion of Europe with the France team. The Saint-African athlete’s training pays off. “You don’t win during the competition but during all those hours when you train alone. This is where victories are built. The fact that there are all these competitions motivates me, gives me this goal to continue training. Then, I know that over time it is also crucial for my everyday health. When I talk about health, I think of maintaining the body but also of the mental aspect of everyday life. The two are linked. Taking it into account is essential”.
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