MARTINOT-LAGARDE Pascal

General
IMPORTANT MEDAL
He claimed gold in the 110m hurdles at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin, Germany, following a number of years in which he had been affected by injury. "I told myself, 'Finally!' It was not a surprise for me but it was a relief. I knew I was capable of doing it. When I am at the start of a competition I only want to win. Running for times doesn't do any good. I am happy when I run under 13 seconds but I realise that it doesn't change your life. A time, a record, can be erased. But no one can take this European title away from me." (sport24.lefigaro.fr, 11 Sep 2019; lemonde.fr, 27 Jan 2019)

ATTITUDE
He has received criticism for appearing overconfident at times. While he says hearing this description of him can be hard, he admits it is not without merit. "It does hurt, but I do sometimes deserve it. But at the same time, I want to be the best. I don't know any athlete who wants to be second or third. We all want to win, and as a result sometimes the things I say can sound a bit arrogant. I now pay more attention to what I say. But in France, when you have ambitions, when you want to reach the moon, everybody tells you to keep the feet on the ground. That's the best way of not becoming a champion." (lemonde.fr, 27 Jan 2019, 07 Aug 2015)

FOLLOWING COACH
In 2018 he relocated to Reims, France. He made the switch in order to continue working with coach Benjamin Crouzet, who had been making the 300-kilometre journey to Paris to train Martinot-Lagarde. "There was a risk I would lose my coach. So I left my home, my kids, and moved to Reims in order to train in the best conditions. I told my wife I was not making all these sacrifices for nothing and that she would be proud of me once I brought home a medal." (leparisien.fr, 10 Aug 2018; France 3 Grand Est YouTube channel, 22 Oct 2018)