Stéphanie Gicquel is a French athlete, M&A lawyer, author and speaker born in Carcassonne on July 9, 1982, ultra-distance runner and French 24-hour champion in 2018 and 2022, vice-European 24-hour champion in 2022, holder of the French athletics record in the 24-hour discipline (253.58 km) and vice-world champion in the 100 km with the French athletics team.[1][2] She is also an explorer and since 2015 has held the record for the longest cross-country skiing expedition carried out by a woman in Antarctica without using sled dogs nor kites. She is also a writer, author of several books on her expeditions and on running.[3] A figure of adaptation in extreme conditions, she participates in work with experts and scientists on the capacity of the human body to adapt to environmental stresses in a context of global warming, the impact of movement and nutrition on the well-being and performance.[4]

Stéphanie Gicquel
Personal information
National teamFrance
BornJuly 9th, 1982
Carcassonne (France)
Height160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Weight43 kg (95 lb; 6 st 11 lb)
Websitestephaniegicquel.com
Sport
SportAthleticism, ultra-running
ClubStade Français Athlétisme
Coached byJérémy Cabadet (2023-) & Alain Elie (2022-) Frédéric Barreda (2019-2023)

Biography

edit

Stéphanie Gicquel was born in Carcassonne in July 1982. She later attended HEC Paris, where she would meet her future husband Jérémie.

In 2018, she became French national champion at the 24-hour running race in Albi (215.384 km) and finished 7th at the World Championships organized the following year (240.6 km). In 2022, a year after a serious accident having immobilized her for several months, she regained the title of champion of France during the 24-hour running race in Brive (240.028 km) by then improving the record of this event having notably hosted the world championships.[5][6][7] She also finished vice-champion of France in the 100km running distance in 2021 and 2022.[8][9][10]

She was selected with the French athletics team for the 100 km World Championships in Berlin (August 27, 2022) and the 24-hour European Championships in Verona (September 17, 2022) : vice-world champion with the French athletics team at the 100km event, she won silver again three weeks with the French athletics team at the 24-hour European Championships and also became the 24-hour vice European champion, improving the French national record (253.58 km run in 24 hours).[11] She was elected athlete of the month for September 2022 by the French Athletics Federation.[12] Stephanie Gicquel trains regularly at INSEP, where she also participates in research programs on the body's adaptation to environmental stress.[13][14][15][16] She is the first French athlete to achieve five international-level performances in long-distance and ultra-distance races during the same sporting season (in 11 months).[1]

Stephanie Gicquel is also notable for taking part (along with her husband) in a cross country trek from Hercules between 14 November 2014 and 27 January 2015. The expedition (which did not use sled dogs or kites) covered 2,045 km in 74 days with temperature dropping to -50°C during several days, thus making Gicquel the record holder for the longest assisted journey across Antarctica on skis by a woman.[17][18][19] She also notably ran a marathon around the North Pole in temperatures down to −30°C.[18][20][21] In 2018, she won the Grand Raid du Morbihan, running 177 km in 23 hours 46 minutes.[22] She won this ultra-trail again in 2023 in 18 hours 38 minutes, improving by more than an hour the women's record for the event previously held by Nathalie Mauclair.[23][24][25] She also improved the women's record for the Millau 100km in 2023 during the 51st edition of this race which she won in 8 hours and 21 minutes despite the intense heat.[26][27][28][29] In 2024, she becomes the first athlete to win the Grand Raid du Morbihan three times and improved again the women's record for this 175km ultra-trail in 16 hours and 33 minutes, running more than 10.5km/h on average.[30]

In 2019, Stéphanie Gicquel finished third in the World Marathon Challenge, a competition of 7 marathons over seven days and on seven continents.[31][32]

In 2024, she helped establish the world record for 24-hour running in mixed relay (416km) by carrying out the first relay on the athletics track at Stade Charlety at the invitation of the French radio RMC.[33][34][35]

Stéphanie Gicquel received the Micheline-Ostermeyer prize, awarded by the INSEP Alumni club and rewarding an athlete who has achieved a remarkable professional career during or after their sporting career. This prize was presented to her by André Giraud, president of the French Athletics Federation, in the presence of Stéphane Traineau, president of the INSEP Alumni club, and Anne Barrois-Chombart, deputy general director of INSEP, during an evening gala at the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, Wednesday November 9, 2022.[36]

The Paris Olympic Committee awarded her the prize for Best Parisian Sportswoman in January 2023.[37]

The documentary "La coureuse hors norme", a 23-minute portrait retracing the career of Stephanie Gicquel produced by the France TV teams, attracted nearly 4 million viewers during its first broadcast on France Television in the 8:30 p.m. summer show presented by Laurent Delahousse on August 27, 2023.[38][39]

Aside from athletics, Stephanie Gicquel works as an author and speaker. Stéphanie Gicquel is the author of several books : On naît tous aventurier (Ramsay Edigroup, May 2018), Expedition Across Antarctica (Vilo Edigroup, preface by Nicolas Vanier, René Caillié prize for travel writing of the year 2016) and En mouvement (Ramsay, May 2021). She contributes to numerous books, including Mindset of Champions[40] (2024) by Thierry Picq and Mickaël Romezy, Engagées (2021) by Charlotte Daubet, To succeed, strengthen your state of mind (2021) by Isabelle Proust alongside Thierry Marx and Mercedes Erra, Knowing to act - Towards another acceleration (2021) by Alexandra Corsi-Chopin, Little, I was already dreaming of it (2020) by Claire Le Meur, Les Pionnières (2020). She also writes a column in the sports magazine PANARD.[41]

She regularly speaks in schools, businesses and in the media on climate change, audacity, the ability to adapt and surpassing oneself, individual and collective performance : “The only limit to our goals is the one we set ».[42][43][44][45][46] She raised 10,000 euros for the Petits Princes association which makes the dreams of sick children come true.[47][48] During her raid in Antarctica, she made a documentary Across Antarctica produced in 2016 on her adventure and the quest for meaning.[49]

In 2023, she became an ambassador for Move For Muco, a running challenge organized each year by the association Vaincre La Mucoviscidose to fight cystic fibrosis which brought together 2,378 participants and raised more than 140,000 euros in donations in 2023 and more than 2,500 participants for more than 170,000 euros in donations in 2024.[50]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Carcassonne. Un 24 heures chrono record pour Stéphanie Gicquel". ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Le corps humain est-il un champion «naturel» de l'ultra-endurance ?". Le Figaro (in French). 15 May 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel, sportive de l'extrême : " Le corps et le mental peuvent nous amener très loin"". ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel: «J'ai marché plus de 2000 km à travers l'Antarctique par – 50 °C»". Le Figaro (in French). 10 May 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  5. ^ Drouillat, Alix (18 July 2022). "Stéphanie Gicquel : retour sur le devant de la scène de l'ultrafondeuse de l'extrême".
  6. ^ France, Centre (28 May 2022). "Course à pied - 24 heures de Brive : éclatants retours de Gicquel et Lepers". www.lamontagne.fr. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  7. ^ "ATHLE.FR | Championnats de France des 24 heures : Gicquel et Lepers en or". www.athle.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  8. ^ "les Podiums". bases.athle.fr. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  9. ^ "- Championnats du Monde Route". cdm.athle.com. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  10. ^ "JAIMECOURIR.FR | Stéphanie Gicquel : La course comme une aventure". www.jaimecourir.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  11. ^ "ATHLE.FR | Championnats d'Europe des 24 heures : Gicquel et le collectif féminin en argent". www.athle.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  12. ^ "ATHLE.FR | Athlète du mois de septembre : Gicquel plébiscitée". www.athle.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  13. ^ rédaction, La (4 October 2022). "24h avec Stéphanie Gicquel (H.06)". HEC Stories (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel, la course aux limites : « J'ai l'intime conviction de pouvoir courir de 260 à 270 kilomètres en 24 heures »". Le Monde.fr (in French). 9 August 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel, exploratrice : « Mon organisme est précis comme un thermomètre » (Culture)". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  16. ^ "À Paris, Stéphanie Gicquel repousse les limites du sport". actu.fr (in French). 7 January 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Video: Watch breath-taking footage of Stéphanie Gicquel's record-breaking journey across Antarctica on skis". Guinness World Records. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Stéphanie Gicquel". www.ey.com. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel, aventurière de l'extrême". L'Express (in French). 20 August 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel, aventurière de l'extrême". LExpress.fr (in French). 20 August 2018. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel, sportive de l'extrême en milieu hostile". Marie Claire (in French). Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  22. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel, d'aventure en aventure". Le Figaro (in French). 13 September 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  23. ^ Ouest-France (1 July 2023). "Ultra Marin. Vivien Laporte et Stéphanie Gicquel renouent avec la victoire sur le Grand Raid". Ouest-France.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  24. ^ "Running. Ultra Marin : Stéphanie Gicquel remporte le Grand Raid". Le Télégramme (in French). 1 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  25. ^ "Ultra-trail : Stéphanie Gicquel, une vie à 2 000 à l'heure". ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  26. ^ "Qui est Stéphanie Gicquel, nouvelle détentrice du record des 100 km ?". journaldemillau.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  27. ^ "Course pédestre : le record des 100 km de Millau est tombé avec la victoire de Stéphanie Gicquel !". centrepresseaveyron.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  28. ^ Périé, Yannick (30 September 2023). "100 km de Millau : Stéphanie Gicquel bat le record de l'épreuve !". millavois.com (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  29. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel un record à Millau qui permet d'en préparer d'autres". midilibre.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  30. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel s'impose chez les femmes sur le Grand Raid de l'Ultra Marin". Le Télégramme (in French). 29 June 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  31. ^ Jérémie Pavlovic (10 February 2019). "Sept marathons en sept jours : Stéphanie Gicquel raconte son exploit" (in French). leparisien.fr. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  32. ^ "Results". World Marathon Challenge. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  33. ^ "[Podcasts] Courir 24h en solitaire... et en équipe : les nouveaux et nombreux de Stéphanie Gicquel !". RMC (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  34. ^ rédaction, La (30 May 2024). "Course inédite RMC : des guest-stars en lice pour le record du monde des 24 heures en équipe". Running Attitude (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  35. ^ "[Podcasts] RMC dans le Guinness Book des Records : le débrief d'un week-end historique !". RMC (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  36. ^ "ATHLE.FR | Récompense : Stéphanie Gicquel a reçu le trophée Micheline-Ostermeyer". www.athle.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  37. ^ à 08h49, Par Frédéric Van de Ponseele Le 6 mars 2023 (6 March 2023). "Avocate, aventurière, sportive, autrice… Stéphanie Gicquel, une perfectionniste aux mille et une vies". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ ""L'été de 20h30 le dimanche". La coureuse hors normes". Franceinfo (in French). 10 August 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  39. ^ "L'Ultra Marin en prime time sur France 2 dimanche avec Stéphanie Gicquel". Le Télégramme (in French). 21 August 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  40. ^ "«Dans la tête des champions» : ces 18 récits sont des shots d'adrénaline pour aviver votre quotidien". Le Figaro (in French). 21 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  41. ^ "Auteure". Stéphanie Gicquel (in French). 6 November 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  42. ^ "Isabelle Morizet avec Stéphanie Gicquel". Europe 1 (in French). 7 October 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  43. ^ "Sport : les conseils de pros pour gagner en endurance - Elle". elle.fr (in French). 11 May 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  44. ^ Forge, Véronique (1 May 2017). "Stéphanie Gicquel : « L'aventure, c'est simplement sortir de sa zone de confort »". Business O Féminin (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  45. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel, sportive de l'extrême en milieu hostile". Marie Claire (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  46. ^ "Stéphanie Gicquel, championne du 100 km et Top Voice LinkedIn". storyjungle.io (in French). 21 March 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  47. ^ Santacroce, Léia (14 February 2019). "Antarctique, Dubai, Miami… Stéphanie Gicquel boucle 7 marathons en 7 jours pour les enfants malades". Geo.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  48. ^ à 07h12, Par Jérémie Pavlovic Le 10 février 2019 (10 February 2019). "Sept marathons en sept jours : Stéphanie Gicquel raconte son exploit". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  49. ^ "L'exploit de Stéphanie Gicquel : elle traverse l'Antarctique à ski par -50 degrés". Franceinfo (in French). 24 November 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  50. ^ Dumont, Floriane (29 April 2024). "PARIS : Devenez marathonien du combat contre la mucoviscidose !". Presse Agence (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.