Pascal Bildstein
48 years old, president of the Paris triathlon committee and director of communications for the 2010 Paris badminton world championship.
An unbelievable adventure!
When I relaunched the Paris triathlon in 2007, I based it on the model of the London triathlon – the world’s most popular event of this kind.
Carrying out a triathlon in a capital city is a great opportunity, and doing it in three different capital cities Paris, Brussels and London in the same day is just incredible!
Over the last 12 years, I’ve worked as communications director and then vice-president for the French triathlon federation. I’ve helped to develop the sport and also assisted with its debut on the Olympic programme at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, where large crowds of enthusiastic people came to watch the event take place at the heart of the city. Since then, I’ve supported triathletes at the Olympic Games of Athens and Beijing, and the event has always created quite a stir, as I’m sure it will in London in 2012.
I’ve always been passionate about sport: I started off as a swimmer, and then moved into the triathlon at an amateur level in 1984. It’s my dream to compete in Eurostar’s Tri-City-Athlon, as the event provides a fantastic chance to meet and share a common experience with athletes from different countries. It’s this type of triathlon event that the Paris triathlon committee is trying to promote to everyone, no matter what gender, age, or professional level.
Good luck to everyone taking part!