Myriam Soumare, 2012

A word about the work

( REF : CCAB003)
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.
Myriam Soumaré is a track and field sprint athlete (100m and 200m). She came to athletics late, at 18, and the world was immediately riveted by her natural talent. She was European 200m champion in 2010. She confided in Sandrine that sport has changed how she sees her body : ” Sport taught me to become a woman and get used to having a muscular body. I now like the look of my stream-lined figure”.

My first memory of Myriam is pretty funny : “Fontenay-sous-Bois is really nice!” she exclaimed when she came out of the station to go to the studio, having come straight from her home town of Villiers-le-Bel. She is so vivacious and natural.
I know her well now as we have done so many shoots together, but we both particularly like this one with the veil that gives an impression of speed and is also a nod to her religion. Even though she isn’t veiled in everyday life, she does wear it but in her own way, more like a headscarf. We love what this photo shows, a sort of “who’s that fast girl under that?”

Jean-Denis’s choice

Catherine has explained it all so well… I chose it because it is so simply beautiful.