A childhood dream fulfilled.

Meet Olivier, a swim Instructor and triathlete.

I saw Olivier on the beach recently with one of his clients. Not being a super early riser I hadn’t seen him before as he is usually gone by 8.30am. I was interested to know how he came to be teaching people to swim in the Sea as I didn’t even know that this was something one could do. Well apparently it is and Olivier is the man to do it with.

A private swim coaching session in the sea,  just another of the many things which people come to Cap d’Antibes to do. You learn something new everday!

How long have you been teaching people to swim?

I have been swimming for 35 years and I have been a swimming Instructor for just under 5 years.

Did you always want to be a swim instructor?

I always wanted to swim yes. I started swimming at a very young age and I used to swim competitively  with my local swimming club but it was always my dream to one day become a professional swimmer. Unfortunately my parents had different ideas for me. They wouldn’t let me pursue the swimming, for them, it was something you did as a hobby and definitely not a proper job to aspire to. They wanted me to have a successful career and sports wasn’t something they considered to be a career choice.

So, when I was 18, I went to Paris from my home town of Gap to study linguistics. I still continued to swim but just in my spare time. If you want to swim seriously you need to train for at least 20hrs or more a week and that just wasn’t compatible with being a student. I couldn’t do both so I had to sacrifice my swimming.

After finishing my studies  I was offered an opportunity to work as a translator in Sophia Antipolis which I accepted. That was in 1992 so I have been living on the French Riviera for 25 years now.

When did you start to compete in Triathlons?

Sometime after coming to the Cote d’Azur to work I was invited to a party in Antibes. It was there that I met a group of Triathletes and we got talking. I found what they did so interesting that I decided I wanted to try it myself to see if I could do it.

I remember reading an article when I was a teenager about the Embruman triathlon in Embrun. It’s a very famous annual event in the Alps. I was completely fascinated by it and remember thinking to myself that one day I had to try it. I was too young at that time as you have to be over 18 so I didn’t pursue it but it remained in the back of my mind as something I wanted to do.

When I met those guys at the party  I desperately wanted to challenge myself and to accomplish something in sport so, inspired by them, that’s what I decided to do. I started to train seriously and began competing in Iron Man races and Triathlons around the Cote d’Azur. I had also heard about the ultimate Iron Man race which takes place every year in Hawaii and I thought that’s the one I want to do, I want to qualify for that. It’s THE most highly rated Iron Man event in the world, you can’t just sign up for it, you have to qualify and to qualify  you have to be the best. The level is very high but this was my aim, to compete in Hawaii.

Did you manage to get to Hawaii?

At 38 years old I went to a Triathlon event in South Africa. I came first in my age group (35-45). This result qualified me for Hawaii yes. The same year I fulfilled my dream, to compete in Hawaii. It was the only time that I competed there.

Unfortunately I had to quit serious competing 2 years later as the training schedule just wasn’t compatible with having a full time job. I couldn’t do both and had to make a choice so again the sports ended up being the sacrifice.

When did you start working full time as swim instructor?

I left my job in Sophia Antipolis in 2013 and decided to pursue a career which incorporated my love of swimming. In 2014 I started working as a swim instructor in Antibes and teaching and coaching private clients.

In the mornings I teach private lessons on the beach here. After that I work  mainly for the local swimming club as an instructor for the kids. I teach 5-8 year olds. I am also an instructor for aqua biking. The rest of my time is dedicated to preparing  triathatlon training programmes for athletes. I have clients all over the world not just down here. One of my clients is based in the UK. I send him a monthly schedule with all the different sessions he has to do for swimming, running and cycling and he comes here once or twice a year to train with me .

I still compete when I can but I still have to balance it with my work commitments. Unlike before I don’t consider it a sacrifice not being able to compete so much as my job now is doing something I love anyway.

What do you love about your job?

I love teaching people to become better swimmers. There are many people who think that they don’t like swimming but it’s because they don’t have a good technique. I teach them the technique which enables them to swim better and for longer. If you have the proper technique then you can really enjoy being in the water so that’s what gives me the most pleasure.

Why do you love to swim here?

Since moving here I have always come here to plage des Ondes to swim. It gives me an amazing feeling of freedom when I am swimming in the open water here. I think this beach here is probably one of the best places to swim. It’s protected against the wind most of the time and this year there haven’t been any jelly fish which has been good. The water is clear and if you come here early in the morning it’s very flat and therefore very easy to swim.

I usually start swimming in the sea with the wetsuit around mid april and I keep the wetsuit on until the beginning of June until the water warms up a bit. After that I swim without the wetsuit until around mid September or sometimes late September if I can.

Do you have any races coming up this year?

This year I have some races yes. In October  I will be competing in a long open water race of 6 km in Italy so I have to train in the open water and keep the contact with the sea. Swimming in the sea is very diffent to swimming in a pool, you have to adapt your technique. In the pool you just follow the lines on the bottom of the pool in the sea you have to deal with the movement of the sea and concentrate on your direction, it’s much more challenging. The conditions are very specific.

For the race in October, we usually race with the wetsuit so I have to do my training with the wetsuit for that. It is a little bit different swimming with a wetsuit. You don’t get the same flexibility on the shoulders so you have to get used to that. The Neoprene, when you haven’t used it for a long time, gets a little bit stiff so you have to break it in and make it supple again.

What do you love about living on the Cote d’Azur?

I think the Cote d’Azur is probably one of the nicest places to live in France. You have the mountains and the sea in the same vicinity. The climate is fantastic and it’s not too hot in the  summer and it never get’s too cold in the winter.

How do you find your clients here, or how do they find you?

I know many people through competing in triathalons and also if you come to Plage des Ondes often you will notice that you always see the same people. After a while when you see them, for example, three times a week you say ‘Hi’ and then they, like you did, come and ask me if I am an instructor as they see me in the water teaching people swimming. It kind of happens like that really.

I teach my private clients in the morning mainly because it’s a good time and the water is nice and calm and flat. There are not too many people in the water yet and it’s not too hot.

What do your parents think now that you are actually earning a living from swimming?

Actually they are very proud of me. They can see that I am now where I always wanted to be and that they were wrong all those years ago.

Do you hold any resentment towards them that they didn’t let you follow your dream?

Not anymore, No. They did what they thought was best for me. It took me a while to accept that but it’s ok now.

How much does it cost for a lesson with you?

Here for open water swimming it’s 30 euros for ½ an hour. It’s a little bit less at the pool in Antibes.

How do people contact you?

Just come and talk to me here at the beach if you see me. I am normally here in the mornings but before 9am. Usually I am gone by 8.30 or 9am. Otherwise you can call me directly to book a class.

Tel: 0610333437 or email: fontaineolivier@hotmail.fr

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