The International Gymnastics Federation wants to recognise parkour as a new discipline, with a view to Olympic inclusion in 2024. But the parkour community is opposing the FIG’s efforts
The Dame du Lac lives an hour’s ride from Paris, in the suburb of Lisses. She is a 20m tall triangular wall, rutted and pocked with concrete knobs, ledges and gullies. In the late 1980s David Belle and his friends would come here to swing, leap and bound from one of her nooks to the next until they made it all the way to the platform at the top. They were not only playing but training. There was a discipline to it. Because it all grew out of the obstacle course techniques David was taught by his father, Raymond, who had been a soldier and a fireman. They called it “parcours” or “route”.
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It is obvious why the FIG would want to take over parkour, with its huge, hip online presence. What is less clear is why parkour would want to be run by the FIG
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