Discovering Julien Pauthonnier, a French promise of length

The long jump competition held on June 14 in Pézenas (Hérault) sent sandbox statisticians into a frenzy. Julien Pauthonnier (25 years old) landed 8.18 m (1.7 m/s) on his second attempt, smashing his personal best of 36 cm, set in 2021. Rémi Mourié (17 years old) and Maïdis Gorrillot (16 years old) also made a strong showing, with 8.05 m (1.4 m/s) and 8 m (1.7 m/s) respectively, surpassing Leslie Djhone's old U18 French record (7.83 m) which had stood since 1998. An unexpected breath of fresh air for the discipline, which obviously requires confirmation.

Pauthonnier may have the opportunity this Saturday in Madrid during the European Team Championships , where he is celebrating his first selection for the "big boys". "I am passionate about athletics, at the hotel where all the teams are gathered, I feel like I am in a toy store," admits the Vosges native.

"I recognize everyone, I'm very impressed to meet all these athletes ," he continues. "In terms of length, the starting list is huge (the Greek Olympic and world champion Miltiadis Tentoglou, the Italian Mattia Furlani, the Swiss Simon Ehammer, the Swede Thobias Montler...) , worthy of a European Championship final. I'm going to see what I can do against these people, trying to get into the top 4, why not a podium!"

"I don't have an agent, I send emails to meeting organizers to see if there's space."

His jump to 8.18 m has not yet changed the life of the man who is also a full-time cybersecurity salesperson working remotely, based in Nancy where he trains in the evenings under the orders of Julien Deloy, his long-time coach apart from a two-year interlude in Toulouse (2022-2024) with Dominique Hernandez.

"I don't have a kit supplier, I have some help from my club (Athletic Vosges Entente Clubs) and from the region, but it's still linked to my previous performances. I don't have an agent, I send emails to meeting organizers to see if there's any space. Well, it's probably going to be easier now ," he smiles. "But as long as it doesn't interfere with my progress, I don't think I'll leave my current job."

"The first thing to do is to regularly jump over 8 meters, as I spoke about here to Kafétien Gomis (European long jump vice-champion in 2010 and current coach of Hilary Kpatcha) , so that it becomes a standard , he aims. Then go towards 8.20 m, to seek finals in major Championships, and aim for the Los Angeles Olympics. But I don't have a precise figure in mind."

Julien Pauthonnier at the French Indoor Championships in Miramas at the end of February. (V. Joly/L'Equipe)

Before Pézenas, Pauthonnier had some clues about his form. "I obviously didn't expect to go that far, but I knew I had big jumps in my legs, certainly over 8 meters. In the first round of the Interclub Championships in May, despite the terrible weather, I had a jump of around 7.90 m. It was just a matter of time."

"In Pézenas, the conditions were ideal: 25 degrees, tailwind but regular, constant, no eddies ," he explains. "On the 8.18m jump, my board was almost perfect. The speed, the momentum, it was technically very good, I fully committed and when I saw the mark on the scoreboard, I was speechless for almost 30 seconds. It's not the perfect jump, because I can still improve my mobility on the pull-through, in particular."

How can we explain why it took the Vosges native so long to beat his personal record from 2021? "I've had a lot of physical problems in recent years ," he recalls. "In 2021, I hurt my hamstrings, then I broke the same spot in 2022, and it took me almost a year to recover. At the end of 2022, I decided to go to Toulouse to see something else."

"I'm making progress mentally, but my performance is leaving me a little wanting ," he recalls. "I then started working in IT sales to be financially secure, but with hours that weren't compatible with my sessions. I then decided to return to Nancy at the beginning of 2024, but a pubalgia forced me to stop for four months. I did a lot of rehabilitation last summer, almost every day with the physiotherapist, before finally being able to start again last September."

A long, but far from straight, road to the famous Pézenas jump, the best by a Frenchman since Kafétien Gomis's 8.25m in 2015. Pauthonnier is now only a few centimeters away from the minimum clearance for the Tokyo World Championships (September 13-21), set at 8.21m. He has a month left to reach this goal. Who would have bet on it a few weeks ago?