Women's team races up Eiffel Tower
On Tuesday morning, the Paris Saint-Germain Women's team took part in an unforgettable experience: a foot race up the Eiffel Tower!
The first rays of sunshine were just beginning to lighten the La Dame de Fer (Iron Lady) as the Paris squad arrived at the Champ de Mars. Coach Olivier Echouafni revealed the day's challenge to his players: a time trial up to the second level of the Eiffel Tower... twice! That's nearly 2,000 steps in total!
"It's the first time a football team is running up the Eiffel Tower," smiled the coach. "We needed to get up very early, but it was a really great moment. We also added a little competition by timing it as part of our pre-season training. The Eiffel Tower is on our logo, we see it every day, so to do this was really something special."
Les Rouge et Bleu accepted the challenge and it was captain Irene Paredes that topped the time sheets, closely followed by Alana Cook and Ashley Lawrence. "I had already been to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but not like that, not by the stairs, it was incredible," admitted Lawrence. "I really enjoyed doing this with my teammates. I did ok by finishing in the top three. We are all competitors and its tests like this help forge a team."
Les Parisiennes continue their pre-season preparations when they travel to Switzerland on Thursday for a tournament where they will take on AC Milan, Zurich and Juventus. Week 1 of the French Women's Division 1 sees Paris take on Soyaux at the Stade Jean-Bouin on 24 August.