From sport to stage: emlyon’s high-level athletes inspire through their stories
On October 14, 2025, emlyon business school hosted the 5th edition of Champion De Sa Vie, a unique program in France dedicated to helping elite athletes develop their public speaking skills, on its Lyon campus. In front of an audience of 120 spectators — students, institutional partners and players from the world of sport — eight athletes took the stage to deliver an inspiring speech, the result of several months of specific training.
Sponsored this year by Yann Cucherat, former high-level gymnast, multiple European and world medallist and four-time Olympian, this edition once again highlighted the powerful connection between athletic performance and personal transformation. The ceremony, hosted by François Belay, official speaker of the Tour de France, gave each athlete, the opportunity to share a deeply personal yet universal message about self-improvement, resilience, and life after sport.
On stage, the eight athletes captivated the audience with the sincerity and power of their stories:
- Marine Camara – Boxing
- Cyrille Carré – Kayak
- Shana Grebo - Athletics
- Anicet Kozar – Athletics
- Jade Maréchal – Fencing
- Timothée Philipp - Judo
- Tom Rajaonia – Motocross
- Margaux Rifkiss - Fencing
Through moving and determined testimonies, each participant expressed how the values of sport — commitment, perseverance, and team spirit — can be translated into both professional and personal life.
Since its creation, Champion de sa vie has aimed to help elite athletes showcase their skills and experiences beyond performance itself. The training offers over twenty hours of individual and group coaching, combining remote sessions and in-person workshops. Participants work on building self-confidence, the structuring of impactful speech and and mastering the art of public speaking. A dense module, led by experts in oral communication and leadership, finally allows them to perfect their stage posture before the final presentation.
Beyond the oratory performance of this eveznt, this 5th edition embodies emlyon's desire to strengthen the bridges between the academic world and the world of sport, by supporting the retraining and development of talent from high-level sport, such as the GBBA - Parcours Talents program designed for these profiles.