The news may have gone unnoticed, except by those close to him. But Mialitiana Clerc made history on Friday February 9, 2018, at the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Games. Designated flag bearer of the Madagascar delegation, she became one of the youngest athletes, if not the earliest, to experience such a privilege. For her first Games, the exercise might seem out of proportion, but the young skier is the only representative of her country at the 2018 Winter Games.
Its history easily distinguishes it from its rivals in slalom and giant slalom, its two disciplines. Mialitiana Clerc was born in Madagascar, an island where snow can only be seen in images sent from abroad. Adopted at the age of one by a Savoyard couple, she put on skis at a very young age on the slopes of Haute-Savoie. She quickly opted for alpine skiing, which was more traditional. She trains in Flaine or Les Carroz, lives in La Roche-sur-Foron, has a license from the Annemasse ski club.
She could have opted for France and cherished the hope of one day wearing its colors on the international circuit. “Last year, I was asked to join the elite group of the Haute-Savoie committee,” she explains. But I preferred to go to Madagascar, the country of my biological mother. »
The choice is not without risk. In Madagascar, the ski federation is held together with a few pieces of string. It was created in 2004 by Stéphane Razanakolona, youngest brother of Mathieu, the first Malagasy skier selected for the Winter Games in Turin in 2006. The two brothers speak with the Quebec accent, inherited from a Canadian mother. But their father is Malagasy.
Skiing is their passion, Olympics runs in their veins. Founder, vice-president and handyman of the federation, the youngest makes no secret of his project: to accompany Mialitiana Clerc to the highest level of world skiing, and to lead all young Malagasy people in his wake eager for new things.
There is no shortage of energy, but there is a shortage of money. “And there is no question of asking the authorities,” explains Stéphane Razanakolona. Our country is poor, the public authorities have other priorities than paying the expenses of a young skier. We want to help Madagascar, not be helped. »
At the PyeongChang Games, as on the rest of the circuit, the young skier is equipped, "on an individual basis", by a brand of skis. She is also dressed by a Canadian yoga equipment company. “But a season is expensive,” she says. Fortunately, my parents can finance me. ".
In South Korea, Mialitiana Clerc realized the gap that still separated her from the best. She won the 48thrd giant place, almost 19 seconds behind the American Mikaela Schiffrin. In slalom, she ranked 47rd rank, more than 21 seconds behind the Swede Frida Hansdotter. But she claims to have “learned a lot” from such an experience. At the Beijing Games in 2022, she will be just 20 years old. The future belongs to him.
