http://www.lematin.ch/sports/divers/flo … ent-373795

He was abandoned at birth in Sobral. Misery. Yet, a miracle occurred. A fairy tale. A French couple adoptioned him. Nadia, now retired, was a teacher. Yves is still works with computers. Florent Amodio was 1 month old. A new life is being written. His star has been climbing for twenty years. It is not about to stop.

Your journey to this position has been, to say the least, unusual. Does it help you feel stronger?

I quickly realized the incredible opportunity I have been given. I have a perfect view of what is offered to me today and what happened to me. My eyes are wide open. I am so grateful, I am working like a madman. Magical effects occurred around my life at first. To consider all that I've lived, they never ceased to manifest itself.

Do you often think about your early life and the serious consequences it might have had?
Oh! Yes, especially when things are not going well with training or in my head. Then I say Florent, do not worry, it's great to be able to follow your great passion, which is skating. Hey! Florent, you're not president. Do you realize where you come from? You know where you are? You go stay in nice hotels, you have many fans, you meet journalists. So do not complain. I put a lot of things into perspective. It's one of my strengths, gained because of my past, the education I received. If I miss a program, it's not like the whole ship has sunk.

In 2007, you wanted to go to back Sobral. Why?
I wanted to see the city where I was born, to be able to put pictures to what people have told me, and what I have thought about. In Sobral, I saw poverty, extreme poverty. Street children, abandoned, dirty, without shoes. Why did I get out of that and not them? They only want to be happy right? The shock was total. Sometimes I still feel it. Just telling you about it, brings those images back to me. But to rethink what I saw also calms me, puts things in perspective. If I stayed in Sobral, I would be a delinquent or already dead. When you are born in Brazil, you become a footballer, not particularly a skater ...

(Laughs) ... Yes, I reversed the tide. But also I'm ok at football. I do not play in a team; I'm not allowed and it would be dangerous for my career. I just have kickabouts with friends. I'm a striker. Boy, I asked my parents to practice these sports. They told me that the thing was not possible.

Why did you opt for skating?
In fact, I did not really choose. When I was 3 or 4 years old my parents took me to the rink in Cergy-Pontoise (near Paris). I put on a pair of skates and I straight away managed to skate quite well. A man who was giving a lesson noticed me, he spoke to my parents and told them: "Your son is gifted, would you let me teach him?" It started like that. This gentleman, Bernard Glesser was my coach for 15 years. I can not thank him enough for everything he has done for me.

So you've never thought of another sport?
No, because I immediately felt happy on the ice. I progressed faster than others, so there were results. There were podiums. I am a fighter. I have the temperament of a winner.

Yet there is a sense that football makes you dream.
Yes, especially when I see Barcelona play, beautiful passes, the lucidity of the team, players who all think the same thing, the passing which lasts five to ten minutes. What technique! This key to excellence. They enjoy themselves playing, and after their efforts they are rewarded and not always in line with their results. We are skaters, we're not quite rewarded at our fair value, given the hours of training, hardness and sacrifices that our sport requires, many almost permanent frustrations. (idk if he means injuries or what)

So if I understand you, you feel you deserve a little more money?
Yes, even if the financial aspect is not what drives skaters. If we earnt a little more money, it would be nice. We have a lives to build, after skating. Like it or not, the money helps.

Before and after each program you make a sign, looking up. Are you religious?
I am Catholic but not necessarily practicing. However, I know there's someone up there that helps me. Last summer, I lost my grandmother, she was my first fan. I often went on holiday with her. She was proud of me. She collected all the articles, all the photos. Since she is gone, the sign of the cross took on a different scale, a value, a different meaning. From up there, I know she helps me. I'm fighting for her. It is also for you Grandma that I skate.

After the Olympics in Vancouver, people in Brazil came forward, saying that you were their son. What was your reaction?
I took it badly. It is both disturbing and bizarre. Above all, it is a lack of respect for my parents. To stop all of it we had to hire a lawyer. There, there is such poverty that for these women, I am a bait. They want to snatch a piece of the pie. What they do is not good at all. But in Brazil, I also made the sports headlines. I found it amazing that people wanted to follow my Olympic career (14th). I have fans there. But what happened next spoiled the party a bit.

One of your goals this season is the European Championships in Bern (January 24 to 30). The fight for first place with Brian Joubert, your compatriot, promises much.
I beat him at TEB. Championships in France in Tours, he finished first and me second. So now it is 1-1. Brian was world champion in 2007. Competing with him at the highest level has been a sporting dream of mine. But there will be other opponents. As everywhere, there will always be plenty to do.