Who said that studies and competitive sport were incompatible? Vincent Gérard, graduate of Grenoble EM proves it! This athlete has just won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in handball. It allows the Blues to be Olympic champions!
More and more, the Grandes Écoles offer courses adapted to high-level athletes to allow them to train, without abandoning their discipline. This is for example the case of Clarisse Agbegnenou, gold medalist in judo and student at HEC Paris, but also of Vincent Gérard, goalkeeper of the French handball team. It allowed France to become Olympic champion in this sport at the Tokyo Olympics.
Vincent Gérard’s sporting journey
Vincent Gérard was born in 1986 in Woippy, a town in the Grand Est. Unlike the other members of the France team, he did not go through a training center. It was at the age of 15 that he joined the Pôle Espoir de Strasbourg in handball. He occupies the position of guard. In 2005, he was even named best hopeful goalkeeper in the Handzone championship!
After a stint at SMEC Metz between 2003 and 2006, he was poached by Montpellier Handball where he stayed until 2008. He then went to Istres OPH (2008-2010), then to Dunkerque HGL (2010-2015), before return to Montpellier Handball. He will remain there until 2019. That year, he was elected president of the Association of Professional Handball Players.
Since 2019, Vincent Gérard has played with PSG Handball. Furthermore, he has also been a member of the French team since 2013. His record includes a victory at the 2017 World Championship and the 2014 European Championship. In 2018, he was elected best world goalkeeper of the year. . He was also elected best goalkeeper in the French Championship for the 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons. After a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, it’s gold for the Tokyo Olympics!
The academic career of Vincent Gérard
Vincent Gérard’s academic career is very rich. After obtaining his baccalaureate, he joined the Paul Verlaine University of Metz. He will obtain a STAPS license there. After his second year, he left the Grand Est region for his sport and therefore continued his studies in Montpellier, since he joined the local handball team. He therefore continued with a third year of STAPS and validated his license at the University of Montpellier 1, in 2007.
After obtaining his STAPS license, Vincent Gérard continued his studies, still at Montpellier 1 University. He completed a degree in Sports Organization Management. In 2009, he joined the DESMA program of Grenoble EM and will graduate in 2013.
