The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into sexual harassment targeting French athlete Jimmy Gressier, after receiving a report in October, he said on Tuesday, confirming information from L’Équipe.
This report, issued by the director of the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance (Insep), led to the opening of investigations, entrusted to the police station in the 12th arrondissement of the capital. Jimmy Gressier, a 26-year-old 5,000 m runner, “has already had to explain himself to the sporting authorities”, “disputes the facts and reserves his explanations for the courts”, reacted his lawyer Me Antoine Maisonneuve to the ‘AFP.
According to L’Équipe, Gressier is the subject of this accusation by Claire Palou, one of his former training partners at Insep and specialist in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Palou, 22, reportedly spoke with Patrick Ranvier, the national technical director (DTN) of the French Athletics Federation (FFA) in April 2023 on this subject. An interview triggered by her own revelations, a few days earlier in a podcast, about a rape she suffered at age 14, as well as sexual assault. Facts that do not concern Gressier.
Following the interview between Panou and Ranvier, where the athlete spoke about the harassment she said she had suffered from Gressier, the FFA carried out a disciplinary investigation against the runner, interviewed in July, and who did not result in any sanctions.
On September 5, Claire Palou appeared before the parliamentary commission of inquiry dedicated to the dysfunctions of the French sports movement. She opened up about the sexual harassment of an athlete “highly publicized and very protected by his level”, without giving his name at the time. “I did not receive any particular support from my federation in which I felt the very heavy weight of silence,” she declared in particular. Jimmy Gressier participated in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest (Hungary) in August 2023. He placed 9th in the 5,000 meters final in 13 minutes and 17.20 seconds.
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