A great sports fan, he likes to know what is hidden in the lives of athletes, but does not neglect film or singing stars. After a long journey in the Canadian far north, he returned more determined than ever to see what was going on among the people of France and elsewhere.
It’s a real miracle that he escaped. A former player and coach of the XV of France believed that he was living his last hours during a paragliding outing in Reunion. Fortunately, the emergency services on site managed to save his life.
Suspended for 3 hours from a branch 500 m from the ground, this ex-player of the XV of France recounts the very perilous operation to save him
“Honestly, I thought I was dead”launches this Tuesday, November 12 exceptional guest of Super Moscato Show on RMC, when discussing the very bad situation in which he found himself a few hours earlier. For all rugby lovers, the name of the former flanker of Perpignan and Stade français Paris is well known as he has marked the history of French rugby. With the French XV, he has 25 selections and even had the chance to become a coach from 2007 to 2011. Today, he is a consultant on Canal+ and takes advantage of his free time to travel.
With friends, Marc Lièvremont went to Reunion Island for a vacation dedicated to sport. A thrill-seeker, the 56-year-old former rugby player took off for a paragliding session which quickly turned into a nightmare. “I was flying with friends from the Pyrenees. The idea was to fly around a wall to catch thermal currents. I’m not at all proud of myself because I was probably too close to the wall and I got swung with my paraglider in the middle of a 1000 meter high cliff, I found myself clinging to the vegetation. he explains on the phone from Reunion Island to Vincent Moscato and his team, before continuing: “I spent three hours in the voidheld by my harness which was attached to a branch about three centimeters in diameter.” Note that this branch was located in the middle of the cliff, almost 500 meters from the ground.
Marc Lièvremont thanks the exceptional work of the rescuers
A particularly delicate situation for 2011, who thought it was the end. “When I saw myself approaching the slope, I said to myself: ‘I have the right to it’. I tumbled down the cliff before my harness caught on that tree. It’s a miracle I was hanging like that for three hours.” Fortunately for him, the former coach was able to count on help from the emergency services: “I came across exceptional people. They couldn’t airlift me so they sent a commando of rescuers who abseiled down to me. We then went up about thirty meters to find a clearer area in which to evacuate. I feel very stupid telling the story. I blame myself for taking so many risks. The adventure ended well but I was close to the worst.”
A story that could have ended dramatically for Marc Lièvremont, who escaped miraculously.
