FOR Claude-Louis Gallien, now first vice president of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), his visit to Tokyo in 1967 was an unforgettable experience.
That year Gallien, then a 25-year-old university athlete, participated in the Summer Universiade in Tokyo and won a medal in the hammer throw in front of 15,000 people.
“I still kept that medal in may desk, you know a dream for a university student to attend the event,” said Gallien, 65, who is also a professor at the Laboratory of Neurobiology, Developmental Biology and Muscular Differentiation of Paris Descartes University.
“After that event in Tokyo, I showed my lifelong interest and was involved in Universiade activities,” Gallien said Saturday afternoon after he arrived at Wuzhou Guest House to attend the fifth General Assembly of the Asian University Sports Federation.
At Paris Descartes University, students not only see a professor in laboratory, but also him in the gym. Gallien discusses course work with students while running around a field, and often has physical education lessons in classrooms.
“Sports can bring a closer relationship for me and my students when we were jogging and talking about science issues,” said Gallien.
“This is Gallien’s first official visit to Shenzhen. Previously, he visited the city as an observer when the city was preparing bidding for the 26th Summer Universiade last November.
“I think Shenzhen will give the best games in the Universiade’s history, because it is a city of young people who want to show the best of Shenzhen to the outside world,” said Gallien.
“Few people in Europe knows much about Shenzhen. I didn’t know either until last November,” said Gallien, adding that he believes a Universiade can greatly improve a city’s international image.
“It is not easy to be the best and win to host the Universiade, because other bidding cities are also very strong,” said Gallien as he remembered the moment in January when FISU directors voted to choose the host city.
During his visit last November, Gallien found something that France could learn from Shenzhen.
“It is a brilliant idea to establish a Virtual University, a center of excellence which attracted best teachers and students and research workers nationwide. It shows the city’s innovation and creativity,” said Gallien.
“In FISU, we have an alternative whether to expand business and compete with IOC and other international sports organizations. But we should legitimate our position by really trying to develop sports as part of education and emphasize its education role as we are living in a world of competition,” he added.
Now, in his 60s, Gallien is still a sports enthusiast who runs and sails regularly. “The problem for me is how to carry the sailboard to the sea, because it is too heavy, and I am not young any more,” Gallien said.
“It doesn’t matter you win or lose, because there is no winner in life. If you lose, you will be the winner next time, that is a good education,” he said. (Han Ximin, Shenzhen Daily)