Held outside France on a one-off basis, the meeting gave the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission the opportunity to work alongside its IOC counterpart, the very first time that an organising committee’s athletes’ commission has met with that of the IOC.

This ground-breaking joint session gave the members of the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission and its chair, Martin Fourcade, the opportunity to share information on ongoing projects, talk to the experts on the IOC Athletes’ Commission and listen to their expert views. The likes of Kirsty Coventry, Danka Bartekova, Sarah Walker and Yelena Isinbaeva gave their impressions on the key innovations of the Paris 2024 project, such as new sports, the opening of some events to the general public, and the services and athlete experience that will be offered at the future Olympic and Paralympic Village.

Over the course of the weekend, the members of the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission, among them Marie Bochet, Théo Curin, Lucas Créange, Stéphane Diagana, Gévrise Emane, Hélène de France, Astrid Guyart, Jessica Harrison, and Florian Rousseau, met up with the 300 athletes attending the Lausanne forum to present the Paris 2024 project to them and gauge their expectations of the concept behind the Village.

“Co-building, openness and sharing have been our watchwords since the start of the project,” said Fourcade. “The joint session of the Paris 2024 and IOC commissions, followed by the IOC Athletes’ Forum, has given us the opportunity to meet with athletes from all over the world, add value to our project, and optimise, with the aid of fresh and different viewpoints, the experience that we will bring to athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

The Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission has also welcomed a new member, Diandra Tchatchouang. The 27-year-old basketball star, who wears the No. 93 France jersey in tribute to her home department of Seine Saint-Denis (93 is its administrative number), is leading from the front thanks to her successful playing career with Montpellier, her ongoing studies at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, and her unstinting support of charities. That support has seen her set up the Take Your Shot event, which encourages young women to play sport, and the Study Hall charity, which offers academic support and language courses to youngsters in the district of La Courneuve, in preparation for the Paris 2024 Games. Diandra replaces Marine Johannès, who has decided to focus on the latest stage of her sporting career, having signed a three-season deal with ASVEL – Lyon. Before joining the French club, Marine will play for New York Liberty in the WNBA