Bubka, 1996

Gérard Rancinan

athlétisme Bubka perche portrait Rancinan

Un mot sur l'oeuvre

( REF : GRAN003)
In the winter before the Atlanta Olympic Games, Gérard Rancinan produced a series of portraits of sports personalities who were most likely to be the stars of the Olympics. All the great champions of the period were captured by his lens. Sergey Bubka agreed to the project and suggested Gérard come and see him at « his » meet, in Donetsk in the Ukraine, traditionally held (indoors obviously) in February. It is 1996 and Sergey, who was world champion and Olympic champion in Seoul, is literally walking all over the competition. He is a real star. Gérard travelled with the French delegation who had come to take part in the meet, and produced this shot the following day in the Ukrainian countryside.

Le témoignage de Gérard Rancinan

 When I got to the indoor stadium where the meet was held, Bubka suggested he pose there, as he was... It took time to show him some of my other portraits, for him to understand the ambition of the project before he agreed to give me more. Before I met him I had a scout round town and saw this tree sticking up out of the landscape a few kilometers from the stadium. When I spoke to him, he laid down his conditions : « Ok, but I need a heated bus to change in and to carry my pole. » By some miracle I managed to hire a bus that day, in a town I didn't know.
When we got there, the tree had frozen and the whole scene was magical. He got changed then went out in -20°C and posed for three minutes with the raised pole. He came back to the coach totally frozen, but I knew I didn't have my shot. I was missing the tiny detail that would give it more grace, more elegance. I asked him to come back out and pose but this time standing on tip toes. He grudgingly accepted while I took three more shots.
When I got back to France I was a bit worried, hoping that everything would come out properly on the film. When the photo lab called to let me know everything was ready ; I asked : « What's it like ? » « It's white » they told me. « What do you mean white, white how ???» « Well, just white... 

Le choix de Jean-Denis

It's true, it is white, but not only...
It's an image that truly shows the champion, shows his natural class, his elegance and his home country. It's great when an image tells the story of a man.
Wearing simple shorts in that desolated, yet magical landscape, he really is the champion who came in from the cold. An unbeatable photo of an unbeatable champion.