Edgar Grospiron's skis propelled him to Winter Olympic gold over the bumps of snow in the moguls event in 31.23 seconds in Albertville, south-eastern France, in 1992. More than three decades later, the Frenchman faces a more sustained demand: a five-year mission to oversee the organisation of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.
His first comments as the go-to face of the impending winter extravaganza were as assured as yesteryear's surge to glory.
"The challenge ahead of me is like a long field of bumps," quipped Grospiron, who embarked on a career as a motivational speaker after hanging up his skis. "So you're going to need strong knees ... don't worry, I'm used to it.
"We're going to encounter bumps, but our mission is going to be to overcome them, to face them. The bigger the obstacle, the greater the opportunity behind it, and that's what we're going to be working on together with the organising committee."
Top of the list will be the selection of a chief executive to help share the load. Around €600 million worth of sponsorship will also need to be secured to pad out the two billion euros allocated for the 26th Winter Olympic Games.
The egos of local, regional and national political leaders will have to be flattered and pampered while adhering to the icy demands of national and international Olympic administrators.
Global warming – leading to the amount and quality of the snow – will be a likely concern.
In the flurry of interviews after his anointment, Grospiron maintained his composure.
Former skiing champion Grospiron takes on role as face of 2030 Winter Olympics
Task
"I don't see it as a nightmare at all," Grospiron told RFI. "On the contrary, I see it as a big challenge. And big challenges lead to big victories, and small challenges to small victories.
"What's interesting about this project is that in France, we have extraordinary resources and we're going to be able to mobilise them.
"They are already well mobilised to serve this project. It is a magnificent project that should also help to provide answers to the climate challenges we face".
Sports administrators in France are basking in the glow of a successful Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
The three-time Olympic canoeing champion, Tony Estanguet, headed that organising committee with drive and panache and French athletes then harvested record hauls of medals to justify the financial investments in their bids for personal and national kudos.
In the wake of those coups, regional government officials gleefully parade their savoir-faire during tours with delegations from future Olympic cities such as Los Angeles and Brisbane.
"It's all about teamwork and synergy," said Grospiron. "Managing to unite all the energies that will enable us to get there. Obviously, Paris 2024 leaves a legacy in terms of human resources, that are, shall we say, plug and play. And that's a real opportunity".
Grospiron emerged as a candidate after former biathlete Martin Fourcade quit at the beginning of February. Fourcade, France's most successful Winter Olympian with six golds and a silver from Vancouver, Sochi and Pyeonchang between 2010 and 2018, fell out with local politicians and clashed over the siting of the organising committee's headquarters. The 36-year-old preferred a base in Grenoble, Chamonix, Albertville or Aix-les-Bains rather than Lyon.
French Alps the only bidder to host 2030 Winter Olympics
Chance
His withdrawal was a huge blow to the prestige of the project a few months after President Emmanuel Macron described him as the Estanguet of the Alps.
Though unable to boast a dazzling array of Winter Olympic hardware - Grospiron took bronze in the moguls in 1994 - a sense of pragmatism emerges from the 55-year-old's experiences as chef de mission for the France team at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics and as head of Annecy's bid to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics.
"The only politics I'm going to have is knowing what's good for the project and how the elected representatives are going to be able to help me deliver these Olympic and Paralympic Games," Grospiron insisted. "Because that's really what's at stake.
"Tony [Estanguet] was faced with the same thing and he succeeded. He managed to get people on board the project".
After an opening ceremony along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, the ice sports, except for the speed skating, will be staged in the city.
Some 600km away to the north, La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand in the Haute-Savoie section will provide the venues for the cross country skiing and biathlon. La Plagne, Courcheval and Méribel in the Savoie cluster will host inter alia the bobsleigh, luge and the alpine skiing. Serre Chevalier and Montgenèvre in the Briançon cluster will stage the freestyle skiing and snowboarding.
"On the basis of the budgetary realities and the environmental realities we face, we have to find solutions that will enable us, that must enable us to deliver games," said Grospiron.
"The concept of these Olympic Games is a fragmented one that would have made purists howl 30 years ago," he added.
"And I understand that. But this concept is an opportunity to spread the load, particularly of spectators. And that's an opportunity".
