Born on 15/5/73 in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.
Lives in Aix-en-Provence.
Height: 1.98m Weight: 98kg
Profession: Sports management consultant and business coach.
Pascal Gentil, the leading French taekwondo star, has a Michael Jordanesque physique. “I’m 1m98 tall and weigh 98kg, so I’m quite a big guy”, he says with a smile.
“I don’t go chasing glory, I just want to be up there with the best”
Pascal Gentil does not aim to become one of the major media stars of French sport but wants to be rightly acknowledged as one of the greats in his sport, taekwondo. Captain of the French taekwondo team for the past three years and a bronze medal winner at the Sydney Olympics, Pascal Gentil’s popularity is indisputable.
My aim is still to win Olympic gold. I’m already preparing for the Athens games in 2004.
The dramatic nature of taekwondo attracted Pascal Gentil. He began his career completely by chance at the age of 18 at the Fontenay-sous-Bois club in the Paris region. He was immediately attracted by the self-control and flexibility needed to practice taekwondo and the tough training sessions.
The Parisian has come a long way since those early days. An Olympic medal winner in Sydney, a three-times World Cup winner, two-times European champion and eight-times national champion, the only medal that he still hasn’t got under his belt is the Olympic gold.
