Experience

Experience
My experience comes from ‘overcoming obstacles’. At 22 I was diagnosed with epilepsy and told I wouldn’t be allowed to drive for one year….So I took up riding my bike to get around and to work and back. I worked 30kms from my house as a programs director and personal trainer at a fitness center. Riding to work and back motivated me to see how far I could push myself so I tried a bike race. From there I climbed on up the ladder until I got to the door of the US national cycling team after winning several national and international caliber races. Along the way doctors told me I shouldn’t push myself too hard physically so I pushed harder. Epilepsy and the word NO have always been my source of motivation. Just tell me you think I cant to push me to can….

In 1996 several months after winning a silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics and then going on to win the world championships and break the 3kms pursuit world record in Manchester I started having unbearable back, knee, and foot pains; I was told after blood tests that I had a gene called HLA B27 that could be causing inflammatory arthritis. By may I could hardly walk. National team coaches and doctors told me I was finished, my career was over, that I should just give up. I was misdiagnosed and thus given the wrong treatment by a first doctor until I pushed hard enough to see another rhumatologist who got the diagnosis right but the treatment wrong. After 16 months off, loads of pain and sleepless nights, I found a drug free treatment that put me back in the saddle and in contention for a world title. I showed up at the World Track Cycling Championships in Berlin with my head and heart ready to win and only 8 months of riding back after 2 years off the racing circuit. Just hearing doctors and coaches tell me I couldn’t was enough to push me first over the finish line!

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
  • Passion and 100% commitment.
  • Enthusiasm and motivation
  • Determination and courage in the face of adversity
  • Ability to work under high pressure to bring out the best
  • Competitive action for overall satisfaction
  • Competence with world-wide media in front of and behind the camera
PERSONAL SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS

6 x WORLD CHAMPION (Team Time Trial, Pursuit, Points Race)
SILVER OLYMPIC MEDAL Atlanta Olympics 3kms Pursuit
SILVER OLYMPIC MEDAL Sydney Olympics 3kms Pursuit

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
MANAGEMENT

ATHLETE CAREER MANAGEMENT (1988-2004).
Achievements

  • National, World, and Olympic titles via the training and racing program that I developed
  • Negotiated longtime contracts with LOOK cycles (1990-present), Powerbar and Oakley (1986-2000) , (Nergisport, Nike, Mavic, Dura Ace, Teddy Smith Jeans, Salomon, Be Well.) Sponsorship was based on a victory schedule as well as product supply and some testing.
  • Raced all over the world, organised clinics on cycling, nutrition, living with epilepsy, overcoming obstacles, and appeared on national TV in France, Australia, and the USA to promote my sport and sponsors.

SPORTS DIRECTOR (1994, 2005-2007)

  • Sports Director CAC Castelsarrasin Men’s elite cycling team, France (2006-2007)
    Achievements
    • Brought the team from regional to national level
  • Sports Director New Zealand National Women’s Road Cycling Team (2005)
    Achievements
    • Brought the team and individuals onto several race wins on the national and international level
  • Sports Director and Creator of French women’s pro cycling team in France (1994)
    Achievements
    • Negotiated sponsorship allowing a full team of 6 riders to compete in the USA, Switzerland, and the Tour of Sicily with 5 stage victories, general classification, points, and team victory in the Tour of Sicily, Victories in the USA.
  • Team Manager (Rugby League 2002, 2006)
    Rugby League Host and Manager for teams on tour in France including New Zealand, Australia, Samoa, Fiji .
CONSULTANT
  • Created MarionClignet.org in 2001 (a coaching, consultant, and audiovisual company)
    Achievements
    • Created successful training camps in Corsica and across the Pyrenees mountains, and a successful tv show called “Champions”.
  • Personal coach and Technical Advisor to various elite as well as regional athletes
    Achievements
    • Negotiated top of line equipment contracts for several cyclists
    • By riding the best equipment and working with the the latest in modern technology bought regional, national, and world results for the athletes I’ve worked with
  • Consultant for UCB pharmaceuticals on management of epilepsy and sport (2003-now)
    Achievements
    • Designed an educational game on epilepsy to help teach all levels,from children to teachers to families, about the various forms of epilepsy
    • Teach children, parents, and the medical field that where there is a will there is a way!
  • French Postal Service Communications assistant (1996-present)
    Achievements
    • Produced a journal on the World Soccer Cup (1998) including interviews, results, my own predictions
AUTHOR

Released ‘TENACIOUS’ my autobiography on how I overcame a serous health obstacle to become a world class champion.
Refer: www.marionclignet.com or on the website of the French foundation for research on epilepsy www.fondation-epilepsie.fr

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Keynote and motivational speaker for various events on topics including ‘Being ready on race day’, ‘Overcoming obstacles to reach your goal’, ‘Living life 100% with epilepsy’, ‘Nutrition, Communicating with athletes' and more. I started my work as a keynote speaker in 1986 when I discovered I had epilepsy.

Education
  • University of Maryland-Physical Education
  • National Strength and Performance Association Certified Conditioning Specialist
  • Certified Personal Trainer
  • BEESAC-French diploma for Director Sportif in cycling
  • Languages: Bilingual in French and English and some Italian
Hobbies and leisure activities
  • Competitive cycling
  • Running (Marathons and trail)
  • Hiking
  • Cinema
  • Reading biographies
  • Travel
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