Toulouse: the firefighter from the Lougnon barracks wins five medals at the Lisbon World Games
Gabriel Sfilio, chief sergeant at the Lougnon barracks in Toulouse, won five medals, including one gold, in the 110m hurdles, at the recent World Games in Lisbon. This former decathlete, diver for the rescue service, is an accomplished athlete.
A gold medal in the 110m hurdles, silver in the javelin and discus throw, bronze in the high and long jump. Staff Sergeant Gabriel Sfilio had a nice harvest of medals at the recent World Fire Fighting Games. His 5-year-old son and his 11-year-old daughter, who accompanied their dad for the first time for such a championship, in Lisbon, as well as his wife, had much to be proud of.
Listen to your body
For his seventh participation in the World Games which take place every two years in a different continent, the Toulousain came very close to a sixth medal since he finished at the foot of the podium (4th) in the shot put. And the 48-year-old former decathlete, accustomed to these marathons of ten events in two days, ultimately did not participate in the triple jump competition: “I had a little pain in my Achilles tendon, I preferred decline rather than risk injury, “says the champion, who has just returned from the Portuguese capital, this Monday, May 9 in Toulouse: “The older you get, the more you have to pay attention to the level of your health. I have an Achilles tendon that tires, and it is my impulse foot for hurdles, height and length. At a certain age, the training is more specific, first on the physical condition, not on the technique which comes back quickly, to avoid having pain after the competition or even being the victim of an injury. You have to listen to your body”.
An athlete who also knows how to dive
The athlete, born in Rennes but arrived with his parents in Toulouse at the age of 16, had not participated in the World Games since 2010 in South Korea, where he had won seven medals! “There were no Games in 2020 in Denmark, because of Covid, and I had not been able to participate in the previous Games in Australia”, confides the firefighter who has spent his entire career at the Lougnon barracks in Toulouse, for 25 years, after his military service with the Paris firefighters. His specialty as a diver allowed him to stay in his barracks on the banks of the Canal du Midi and completes his profile as a versatile and accomplished sportsman. It intervenes in the Garonne, the Canal du Midi or at La Ramée as recently unfortunately following the drowning of a teenager.
In Lisbon, 3,000 firefighters spread over 41 nations. Gabriel Sfilio knows how to prepare: “For the previous editions in Hong Kong and New Zealand, I trained at night in Toulouse so as not to suffer from jet lag”.