Inspiring Journey Video with Benjamin Lang

Video Transcription:

My name is Benjamin Lang and I’m a French Olympic rower. I have two silver medals from the World Rowing Championship and I won bronze medal at the last European Championship. The interesting part of my profile, I think, is that I did that beside of my professional career. I will say that when I arrived at my club when I was ten, I started rowing. And, at first, I hated the sport, I felt like it was awful but my mother told me that I wanted to start so I have to continue for the year. I engaged myself for one year so I had to do one year. So, I went there crying all day for the first month. And, finally, I met a guy, a really strong guy. And, I saw that this guy was training a lot and I asked him what’s the best in rowing and he told me that it was to be World Champion and to go in the French rowing team. And I said “Okay, I will” and I was ten. So, it was kind of an engagement for me. Because I knew, I understood a little what it took to go there and I understood that you needed to train a lot. And, this guy told me to “Yeah, yeah, you got to train before and then we’ll see.” And, this guy at this time became my coach since ever. You know, this guy is Olympic champion in 2000. Yeah, I understood at this moment that I engage myself in something huge. So, yeah, I did that.

This moment was really important for me because I knew that I had to split my life in two different things. I had to continue to go to school to achieve my Master degree while also being a spare at the Olympic Games in 2008 while having my first medal at the World championship. And, also going into work as everyone and you know, trying to find the right balance be with you know, a fulltime job and two time two training a day, every day without holidays. So yeah, at this moment when I was young I didn’t understand quite every aspect of this engagement. But, finally, it was twenty years ago, I am not World Champion. I am two times silver and I went to the Olympics. Even if my coach thought I would never be able to go to the Olympics because I’m not made for rowing. I was not made for rowing because I was not made for rowing. Because I was not made for rowing, I am not for rowing, I’m small, I am not heavy enough. You know, so everyone told me that I would not be an Olympian. And, I said “Yeah. We’ll see. We’ll see.”

In 2008, I appeared at the Olympics. In 2012, I had some trouble with my rowing. In Rio, in the Olympic games, in 2016, I was there. So, finally I did it. I think that most of the people think that they are not able to do things because society tells them that there is just one way to success, just a way to success. I don’t believe in that. I believe that there is so much different ways to success. There is as much as different ways to success that there is as much difference in your profile. Your profile is unique because you are unique. So, your way to success is unique. You’ve got to find it and don’t believe people that tell you that it’s not possible. It’s possible but you got to find your own way and it will not be the ‘royal way’, straight line to the point, as it was not for me. When I started rowing, yeah, I was not able to. My own coach think I was not able to do the Olympics.

Yeah. By being persistent, by pushing your own dream, not the dream of the society, your own dream. I think that you can make it.

Benjamin Lang is a French Olympic Rower who competed in Rio in 2016 and he is also a Business Development and Marketing specialist.

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