Gaétane Thiney, 2012

A word about the work

( REF : CCAB002)
This studio portrait is part of a series produced for Divine which, following Body and Soul, a passion for women’s sport is the second book to be conceived and brought to fruition by Sandrine Retailleau.
The author (Sandrine) and the photographer (Catherine) met twelve exceptional sports women and captured in words and images their personal journey.
Gaétane Thiney is a football player who plays for Juvisy and is one of the pillars of the French national team.
She loves her sport more than anything else in the world and is totally invested in it. She loves it when her opponents see her and say, “that girl is totally mad, she would even be prepared to die”.

I didn’t know her at all. She was very relaxed when she turned up, knowing exactly why she was there and not at all intimidated by the photos we were going to shoot.
She was very at ease with her own body, but not immodest. She even laughed about it, “Of course I have footballer players’ calves”.

Jean-Denis’s choice

Catherine Cabrol always talks so well about women. She magnifies what is beautiful, but also tells the story of this champion through her body, a body that has been shaped by football.
A powerful image that is both very simple and very delicate.