Between slag heaps and cups of chicory, I attended a pure product from Liège, an athletics competition. Immersive report on the occasion of the recent Regionals of combined events and athletic walking.
A small town in Pas-de-Calais, 30 km south-west of Lille, Liévin has monopolized its coal mines for a completely different landscape. The city has found its inspiration in sport for thirty years now. From UNSS (Union Nationale du Sport Scolaire) competitions to the International Athletics Meeting, it actively focuses on athletics. The Agglomeration Community of Liévin coupled with that of Lens also chooses avant-garde facilities like the Vivalley Campus (see below) focused on sport, health and well-being.
The “most modern hall in Europe”
Inaugurated in 1986, the Aréna Stade Couvert Liévin presents itself as “the largest and most modern hall in Europe”. It is the epicenter of all sporting events. The latest, the Regionals of combined events and race walking at the end of January. Smell of sand and magnesia, bleachers and bar, the show is in the stands but especially on the track.
Two days of effort
High jump, pole vault, weights, running, race walking… no discipline is forgotten. Spectators, juries, volunteers, coaches, athletes and their families witness great performances. Among the girls, in the pentathlon, Oriana Metarphi of the Tergnier club won as regional champion. Giuseppe Cecchelli from Lomme takes first place in the heptathlon. For the march, Symon Bazzo-Bortot (Saint-Amand club) came first in the Senior category, while Enzo Dewames (OSM Lomme Athlétisme) won third among the Espoirs. Over two days, the disciplines follow one another, victories and podiums follow.
All these promising athletes are galvanized by the atmosphere. Relatives and friends did not hesitate for a minute. The cries of encouragement easily match the screams of the athletes. Clamor of joy or rage, it varies according to the performance.
Families reunite
Around the track, the atmosphere is family, literally and figuratively. Some families find themselves at each competition, supporting each other’s children. The whole assembly applauds the passage on the finish line of each participant, from the first to the last. “We salute all the performances, the important thing is this spirit of mutual aid between the clubs, between the athletes and between their families” confides a dad leaning on the glass barrier while his son warms up on the track.
The pole vault is an expected discipline that immediately sets the mood. At each attempt, a clapping is heard. The claps of the public and other participants accelerate to the rhythm of the pole vaulter’s race. “On competition days, I have three families, mine first; the one I form with my coach and my club mates; and finally, that of the competition, with the other clubs, the other families, and generally all those who support us. They each have their own importance, it’s this mix that makes the beauty of the event,” explains an athlete from the OSM Lomme Athlétisme club.
A Valentine’s Day on the slopes
On February 14, between roses and a surprise rendezvous, the World Indoor Tour. This international competition is organized in 19 countries, and Liévin has hosted the French stopover for 35 years. The Meeting World Indoor Tour in Liévin is sold out with more than 5,000 tickets sold. It is true that the cast is impressive with the presence of the current world record holder and Olympic pole vault champion, Swedish Armand Duplantis. The 400m world vice-champion, the Dutch Femke Bol will set foot on the Liège track for the first time, while le Norway Jakob IngebrigtsenOlympic champion in the 1,500m and indoor world record holder achieved last year in… Liévin, will why not come and test his record.
If the 2023 edition of the Meeting World Indoor Tour de Liévin is sold out, the ticket office for next year opens in the spring. Local, regional, national or international competitions, to know everything regarding the program of the Arena Stade Couvert Liévin and not miss anything, just go to its site.
A “sports valley” in the Lens-Liévin conurbation
Magnificent high-tech buildings like you see in Paris or Lyon. Except that here we are in the agglomeration of Lens-Liévin which has just acquired its “valley of sport”. Spread over 110 hectares including the Arena Stade Couvert, the sports faculty of Liévin, the Racing Club de Lens or the Nauticaa aquatic complex, Vivalley Campus offers “an extensive offer around sport, health and well-being “As indicated by the town hall in a press release. At the same time, a 7-hectare business park, Vivalley Park, is ready to welcome and encourage the creation and development of start-ups in the world of sport and health.