French Olympic Gold Medalist, Cleopatre Darleux, Breaks Barriers And Inspires The World

For the first time in its history, the 2024 Olympic games in Paris will celebrate full gender parity.

According to IOC President, Thomas Bach, “We are about to celebrate one of the most important moments of women at the Olympic Games, and in sports overall.” Bach acknowledges that it took strength, perseverance, leadership, and courage to achieve gender parity, and the IOC will keep using the power of sport to contribute to a more equal and inclusive society.”

With an increased interest in women’s sports, female athletes are stepping into their power and using their position as athletes and in some cases, as mothers, to fight for equal pay, and humanitarian issues. It takes the same strength, perseverance, leadership, and courage Bach mentions for elite athletes to not only stand up for parity but to maintain the discipline to excel in their sport.

Cleopatre Darleux, the 34-year-old goalkeeper for the French handball team. embodies that passion and dedication for her sport. It is this love of the sport and team spirit along with her technical skills on the handball court, that have resulted in the recognition of Darleux as an icon and role model for young female athletes.

Darleux uses her celebrity platform to raise awareness about issues important to her such as the emancipation of women and the future of a more equal world.

Charlotte Hogg, CEO of Visa Europe, recently shared with me that the Team Visa athlete program chose to sponsor Darleux at the 2024 Paris games because Darleux “has demonstrated great achievements throughout her career in handball, having competed at the 2012 London Olympics and winning the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She is passionate and determined and continues to break barriers and inspire the world.”

“Part of the mission at Visa,” Hogg continues, “is to uplift everyone, everywhere, and we want our Team Visa to reflect that.” In Paris 2024, Visa is supporting 64 Team Visa athletes from 25 countries, across 38 sports. This year’s Team Visa is more diverse than ever with women athletes representing 55 percent of the roster.

Darleux was seven years old when she started playing handball and twelve when she started playing in goal. “I was very competitive which was great for the goalkeeper position,” she shared with me. “It was actually my sister that first started handball, and I wanted to follow her.”

“My biggest challenge was having to move away from home at a young age, however, this helped with my success and gave me a boost as well.” When Darleux left home she told herself she had no choice to but perform well or she would have left home for nothing.

“Competing against other goalkeepers was also challenging, particularly getting a place in the national team. Physically, the biggest challenge was and still is having to be conscious about eating good food and getting a good night’s sleep. I try not to go out too much, which is difficult for the people around me.”

Darleux shared with me the secrets to her ongoing success as an athlete. “I try to give my all in every aspect of the sport. I have determination to win every game, no matter how big it is, and my dedication and focus.” Her mantra is “to always give my best with no regrets.”

Besides the physical challenges for elite athletes, Darleux acknowledges the ongoing issues females face due to their gender. “The gender pay gap is still a challenge for most female athletes.” There is opportunity for women athletes to earn money through endorsement dollars, but not necessarily base pay.

The progress toward closing this pay gap has been slow. It has existed throughout history and remains despite the increased popularity of women’s sports. There is some improvement since 1979 when women made on average 62 cents on the dollar. But since 2004, the gender pay gap across all industries hasn’t closed much, still hovering around 80–83 cents on the average man’s dollar.

“As of 2017, 83% of sports now offer equal prize money to men and women. However, when you look closely at the complexities of this industry such as sponsorships and the discrepancy in the remaining 17% of sports, the wage gap in sports remains significant. When considering how many other industries are addressing the pay gap, sports still has a long way to go.”

Darleux, who had her daughter in 2019, also speaks to the difficulty for women athletes to continue playing a competitive sport after starting a family. Though Darleux is quick to state that the birth of her daughter made her stronger, both professionally and as an athlete, it didn’t come without challenges.

There are examples of female athletes who have successfully managed to combine competitive sports with motherhood, but it’s not an easy choice to make.

Female athletes who chose to be mothers can be financially challenged, with potential loss of income. They also must juggle motherhood with training schedules, traveling, and physical demands.

The focused dedication required to your sport can also clash with the cultural narrative of motherhood being selflessly dedicated to your child. Peak performance requires enormous commitment and dedication to the sport and women often must sacrifice family time.

Darleux openly shares her joyful family life along with her successful career in handball to “inspire younger women to know that anything is possible. I want to show younger women that you can be an elite sportswoman and live a happy life as a mother.”

Darleux thinks women’s sport needs more attention. “In a male dominated field, it’s hard for women’s sports to become widely recognized. Women’s handball has evolved a lot, and with the help of championships and clubs, it’s becoming more famous and garnering increased attention amongst younger people.” Increased media exposure is critical to eliminating the gender pay gap as it leads to larger audiences and increased revenue.

Darleux applauds the “the gender parity of the 2024 Paris Olympic games where for the first time, women will share prime time exposure over the course of the event. She sees it “as an opportunity for women athletes to be seen”, and a great step forward for gender equity.

Bonnie Marcus, M.ED, is the author of Not Done Yet! How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power and The Politics of Promotion: How High Achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead. An executive coach and speaker, Bonnie is also host of the podcast, Badass Women At Any Age.