Inspiring a nation: the oldest French athlete in the Paris Paralympics marathon 

“It was a very difficult race for me. I was almost stumbling through it. But the most important thing was to have finished the race. I am proud of my children, who watched me from around, my parents who are up there, in heaven, and were running all along with me and my two guides, Mathieu Leroux and my husband, who guided me for the first 10 kilometres.”

Rosario Murcia-Gangloff, 60, and the oldest French athlete participant, had just finished fourth in the Paris’ Paralympics marathon, battling cramps, exhaustion and repeated falls up to the last few metres of the race.

In one post-race interview, Ms Murcia-Gangloff warmed the hearts of millions of French people, from casual viewers up to President Emmanuel Macron, who retweeted her live interview on his social media, emphasising her powerful words and resilience.

She was not a newcomer, however, to elite sports competitions.

Ms Murcia-Gangloff had participated in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and ran the 10,000 metres. She was a cross-country medallist (bronze in 1988 and silver in 1989) and a four-time nation’s champion of the 5,000 in 1995 and 10,000 metres in 1990, 1992 and 1993. 

Her life altered the year after at the 1994 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki where she suffered a retina detachment because of severe dehydration.

The event resulted in the development of a glaucoma in 2000 which impaired her right eye totally and left eye partially. She started competing again in the handisport category in 2011.

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The Connexion spoke with her about the benefits of sport, her disability and why age is just a number.

Congratulations! You finished the 20km of Marseille-Cassis race in one hour, 33 minutes and 50 seconds in late October. Is it a good time?

Not really. I actually waited for my husband, who had a hip problem. I start with my husband and finish with him. That’s our rule. We could have finished below one-and-a-half hours at best.

“The 2020 Paralympics marathon bronze medalist finished in three hours 15. I prepared for that race hoping to finish it in under three hours,” you said. You would have finished third in 2020. No regrets?

None whatsoever. If I had known 10 years earlier that I could have switched categories, I would have made everything possible to participate in the last two Paralympics. When I learned I could two years ago, it gave me a goal. 

I wanted to be on the starting-grid, not to mention that it was in Paris. My condition made it achievable because, otherwise, reaching the Olympics’ mark at my age would have been a big big problem [laughs].

The President’s retweet. I am assuming you did not expect it…

Absolutely not! I spoke from the heart and mentioned both of my parents who died and watched me from somewhere. I did not allow myself to think about giving up, even during the hardest of times, because many people have it much harder in life. 

I think the President identified how similar sports and politics could be, the ups and downs, the attacks from every corner. It touched me that he retweeted this interview. It did not feel like he did it for political gains.

What do you think the President wanted to highlight? Your resilience, age, disability, all of that at the same time? A combination of everything. 

It is not a given to put out performances the likes of 20-something year-old runners. Yes, I come from the elite sports world and I can sort of tap into a sleeping potential, but you can still do a lot of things at 60. This is what I want to show. 

Let’s just stop with the “Oh…you know at my age”. After 50, you start a second life. Your children have left home, they are independent. Let’s do what wee want. There are still a lot of things to be done. Sport is one of these.

Health is the most precious gift. If you have it, use it. My [condition] does not make me suffer. It bothers me, for sure, because I can no longer read or walk by myself at night. But I have stopped thinking about these things. It is no big deal. There are plenty of other things I can do. And we live in France! The luck we have...

Are you an example?

No, no, no. I want to send the message that people can practise sport at their own level. If you can still make it at 60, then do it. A lot of it happens in your head. As soon as I had completed the anti-doping test and left the room, the first thing that raced through my mind was the Paralympics in 2028.

I listened to a podcast with Ronnie Coleman, 60, and the greatest bodybuilder of all time. The weights he carried damaged his backbone and neck so much that he now has to use a wheelchair. He gives himself two years before he can walk again. How hard is it to accept a disability?

It was difficult and took me from six months to a year before accepting it. To me, being disabled was exactly that; someone in a wheelchair or with a psychological or neurotic problem. Nobody sees that I am visually impaired. It is part of an invisible disability. 

It is said that where there is life, there is hope. You tell me about Ronnie Coleman. He has the mind of a champion…

He is convinced he will walk again. But Coleman still has the choice whether he will walk or not. That is up to him. You did not have this choice. I wanted to hear you talk about the acceptance of a disability.

I know my right eye is gone. But athletes run on challenges. Coleman has this challenge in mind, it is what keeps him moving forward. This is like a competition. If he decides he will walk again – and if Mother Nature allows it – I think he can make it.

I did not have a choice. My goal is to be able to run, compete and keep loving what I do. 

Two years ago, I had the Paralympics in mind and I turned it into a reality. With or without one or two eyes.

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“From the moment I had accepted my disability, I did not suffer from it any more. My life is different but I have to keep moving forward,” you said. What made you move forward?

My children, my husband and my dogs. It is pointless to wallow in misery. If I have 20 more years to live, let’s enjoy them to the fullest. 

I have an appointment with my kinesiologist right after our interview because many things happen when you get old. For starters, you lose 1% of your body’s muscle each year from 40. The more you lose, the greater the risk of losing your balance if you do not keep your muscles working enough. I have to improve my muscle strength, particularly around my heels. 

I have four years to focus on my weaknesses and alleviate them as much as possible before the Paralympics in Los Angeles. This is what keeps me moving forward.

What did sport bring to your life?

Love, because I met my husband in a stadium; the confidence to study and get a diploma because I used to get bored at school; and a career. 

Sport, or culture, is a necessary tool for life’s balance. It gave me everything.

Including your disability…?

This is what I thought at first. It was actually because of my pregnancies. The hormonal changes created ocular tensions. The retina that detached in Helsinki was due to effort and dehydration. But I did not have any problem prior to 2002.