Julia MANGA
Athlete

Julia received a grant to finance her sporting season.

What is your sporting background ?
Ever since I was small, my parents and I have always played sports: swimming, cycling, golf. My first club membership was for track & field for a year when I was seven, then I turned to gymnastics until I was 13. A friend invited me to an open house at her athletics club, and I got a taste for it again. I juggled these two sports for a year, then at the end of 2023 I decided to throw myself completely into athletics.

How do you view your profession today ?
I am not a professional track and field athlete yet, so it is hard to make up my mind. I know that you have to be one of the best to make a living from it.

How do you see yourself in 5 years ? In 10 years?
In five years' time, I hope to have succeeded in maintaining both my academic studies and my high-level sporting project and to have won podium spots at the national and international level. And in 10 years, to have qualified for the Olympic Games.

Interview conducted in 2024​
Photography credit : Lys Arango