Discover the champions of the “Grande dictation du sport” final, in a text written and read by academician Erik Orsenna

About a hundred participants competed on Saturday, April 27 in Paris in the final of this intergenerational tournament that celebrates literature and sports. This final test determined four winners.

The finalists met under the prestigious dome of the Institut de France, where the seat of the French Academy is located. Children, adolescents and adults measured their strength according to the “sports” dictation of the writer Erik Orsenna.

Award-winning 10-year-old girl from Reunion

Seated comfortably in the velvet armchairs of the Institut de France, the candidates begin to dictate. “Here we are! Cheers! The sun is warming but not too much”, dictated by Erik Orsenna. All were selected during regional tests organized since January. These winners compete in 4 categories: elementary school students (CM1/CM2), high school students, high school students and adults.

Some come from very far away, like Roxane Le Gac, originally from Reunion. “It’s an 11.5-hour plane ride to get here, but it’s a great event, especially at 10 years old.” says the young candidate. Equally motivated, the boy admits that he prepared before arriving. “Yesterday I was practicing dictation and I discovered the word: picturesque” he explains.

Finally, a young girl from Reunion won the final in the elementary school category. For high school students, Valentin Muet selected in Brest is the lucky winner. The high school and adult winners, Sofiane Bouhadi and Sybil Karakoyun, took the regional tests in Montpellier and Saint-Denis.

“Spelling is a discipline”

The great dictate of sports was launched as part of the Great National Action 2024, which is aimed at promoting physical and sports activity. So, of course, Erik Orsenna had fun writing a text related to the Olympic Games, more specifically to one of their legendary events, the marathon.

Running is too hard! And the longer it is, the harder it is. Since the minister can hear us, I will take the opportunity to tell her. Forty kilometers is too much. Try it once, to see. Compared to a marathon, your tennis is easy! Even if for a moment, by some miracle, they didn’t let me go yet.

Excerpt from dictation, author Erik Orsenna

For an academic, sports and literature have things in common. “What is an athlete? It is someone who uses age-old gestures and attitudes and at the same time invents,” he explains.

An idea shared by the taekwondo champion Gwladys Epangue who participated in the final round. “Spelling is a discipline, so I wanted to stay sporty at heart and come here to have a little run with the best of France.” says the bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Dictation, the cerebral sport that motivates all minds.