© Stade de France ®
Macary, Zublena et Regembal
Costantini - Architects
ADAGP - Paris - 2002
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COMPETITION  PORTRAITS |
 BENOIT Z: GENEROSITY PERSONIFIED
Paris 2003 Saint-Denis
Paris has always been good to Benoît Z: it is here in the city of light that he has pulled off his most memorable performances. He will be back this August in an effort to leave the Kenyans in the shade and record his greatest achievement to date.
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| Vandystadt |
Benoît Zwierzchiewski simply adores being in the limelight, but in an event such as the marathon, such opportunities are rare, coming twice a year at the most. The rest of the time, you are in the background, pitting your willpower against constant suffering. During periods of intensive training, he runs close to 240 kilometres per week and must stick to a lifestyle more befitting of a monk. He is quick to recognise that this is not his nature, so when he runs, he’s keen to do it in the full light of day, affirming his spontaneous personality.
A special relationship with spectators
With his tattoos, head shaved in homage to Michael Jordan, pierced ear, and wrap-around sunglasses, Benoît Z never goes unnoticed on the marathon course. But this distinctive and challenging appearance masks a man of uncommon generosity. Marc Maury, French athletics specialist and a friend of the runner, speaks with glowing admiration of his enormous heart. “He is extremely loyal and charming, he just wants to be loved. He seeks communion with the spectators, mingling amongst them, being photographed, letting them share his happiness. These things he regards as simple, natural pleasures.”
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| Vandystadt |
A childhood dream
Born at Mouscron in Belgium on 19 August 1976, Benoît Z reveals he always wanted to be a marathon runner: “It was a childhood dream, the most beautiful image in the world for me was that of a marathon runner entering the stadium.” For this reason, his track outings at 5,000 and 10,000 metres were, for him, nothing more than staging posts. He did, however, become European junior champion at both distances in 1995 and French youth champion while still a junior, so his decision to switch to the marathon so early raised quite a few eyebrows among the specialists. But this was his discipline, the one that, for him, requires real humility, where every metre run is already a victory.
Best European performance
And the facts support his decision. Although the World Championship Marathon at Edmonton was only his fourth race at the distance, he managed to finish in 13th place. In 2002, he won the Paris marathon, and his magnificent second place on Sunday 6 April 2003 remains etched in the memories of all who saw it. In apparent agony as early as the thirtieth kilometre, at times outdistanced and breathless, he repeatedly clawed his way back amongst the leading group, dredging up effort after effort from hitherto unimagined reserves. At the finish, he had achieved the French record for the discipline with an exceptional time of 2.06’33’’, equalling the all-time best performance by a European of Portugal’s Pinto.
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| Vandystadt |
A talented generation
French Athletics Federation chairman Bernard Amsalem regards Benoît as the “iconic figure of French athletics”. All the more so when you consider that the marathon runner is a figure all Sunday joggers can relate to, sharing in his suffering and effort. Benoît Z himself is delighted with this praise, whilst aware of being part of a talented generation of French athletes which promises great things for the imminent World Championships. As he revealed to Athlétisme Magazine: “There will be great achievements there for the taking on the Stade de France track this summer, and medals to be won…”
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