Cédric Fofana is not used to being recognized in the street. It’s a little more common recently. “It happened at the grocery store, at Piknic Électronik…” says the diver on the other end of the line.
This sudden popularity is attributable to his recent participation in the first Quebec edition of the show Les Traiters, in Noovo. The concept: 20 guests from various fields of employment are gathered in a mansion and must identify who among them are the traitors. Filming, which took place in the summer of 2023, lasted 12 days. And Fofana is one of the three winners.
“I was really there to live the experience,” the athlete explains to us. […] Whether I came out first, second or last, for me, it really didn’t matter. I was just there for fun. Plus, it happened that it was during my diving vacation. I was like: I’m going to do it, why not? »
Fofana made friends with other participants and, slowly but surely, he took his place around the round table – where players had to eliminate each other – until he reached the end of the game.
The three winners split a prize pool of $92,500. The diver plans to use part of his share to pay for expenses related to his sport; the rest has been placed. At age 20, he began his adult life with some $30,000 well invested.
Like many Quebecers, Fofana has watched the episodes in recent weeks. And he liked what he saw.
“I’m very happy because that’s really the person I am. I could have started making a spectacle of myself, but not at all. It’s not in my nature. It comes naturally to me to come out of my shell. That it took a little longer is okay with me too. »
“I think I still look good too! he continues. The camera could have given me a third eye, but no! Ultimately, I’m happy with what came out, both personally and physically. »
Fofana did not participate in this experience with the aim of growing out of it, he says, but he still learned that “being yourself pays off.” “I’m really learning that even if you’re put in extreme circumstances, it’s your true nature that comes out and you can’t do anything against that. »
Those most on the lookout may remember Cédric Fofana’s participation in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The diver, who was only 17 at the time, found himself without a coach due to an administrative problem. He panicked and missed most of his dives, finishing in the very last place.
This disappointment, which came at the worst possible time, in front of the entire planet, affected him well beyond the Olympics…
“Before, it felt like a burden. Every time I went to a competition, I just thought about that. […] What happens if I do the same thing again? It was so out of this world that you almost couldn’t do worse. Let’s see! Missed dives, a string of flops… It still took me a long time to get out of that. »
In 2022, at the Commonwealth Games, he would tense up when it came time to dive. The thoughts were out of control. Then, in early summer 2023, at a competition in Italy, he finally managed to move on. “I was like, ‘Hey, this sucks, but move on.’”
What you need to understand is that Fofana did not have a typical diver’s background. “I did everything backwards,” he says.
At 17, when he made it to the Olympics, he had yet to compete in the Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games or World Championships. Major competitions in which athletes normally take part before going to the Olympics.
“It definitely made me grow up at a crazy speed. My coach tells me this all the time: you went straight from elementary school to university. »
Since Tokyo, Fofana has resumed the normal route of a high-level diver.
In December, he took part in the National Championships in Winnipeg. His second place earned him a qualification for the World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
The diver went there in the hope of securing his place at the Paris Olympic Games. Except that it was his first Worlds. He didn’t do badly, but his 32nd place didn’t allow him to get his ticket to the French capital.
“I went to the Games when I was 17, so technically I should be in the game a little bit more, but I’m still really new to it. At 20, usually, you’re either on your way to going to the Games, but you haven’t been there yet, or you’ve done other [international] competitions before. »
The Montrealer was disappointed, obviously, but he knows very well that he still has a lot of time ahead of him. The 2023-2024 season was like “a breath of fresh air.” Quietly, he began to “make [his] place internationally”. “I just needed to experience other international competitions before going straight to the biggest one. »
“Redemption” will come, and it will only be tastier.