Funeral for a former swimmer and abuse survivor

At the funeral home in Nîmes on Wednesday at 2 p.m., the space was nearly full, according to Laetitia Maignan, a former judoka and sexual and gender-based violence prevention representative in the Gard department within the FSGT. Maevi Colomina, a 41-year-old former swimmer with the Nautic Club Nîmois, had accused her former coach, Jérôme C., of sexual assaults and rapes between 1995 and 1999 when she was between 11 and 15 years old.

Multiple allegations against the coach

According to Le Parisien, other women claiming to be victims of the same man reported similar incidents over a period of about thirty years. A dozen potential victims have reportedly come forward, and six women were heard by the family protection unit of the judicial police in Nîmes regarding sexual assault incidents experienced between 1994 and 2009. Jérôme C. was placed under investigation in November 2025 for sexual assault or rape of seven former students in total, between 1994 and 2009. He contests all the allegations, according to the elements provided by the prosecutor at the time. He remains presumed innocent.

Maevi's death and its impact

Maevi Colomina died on June 15, and her partner announced her death on social media and decided to become a civil party in the proceedings. According to him, her accidental death would be linked to her state of depression caused by the case. Laetitia Maignan described Maevi as a woman crushed by the wait, the silence, and the slowness of a case that has not yet been judged. She emphasized that the investigation and summonses were not the only issues surrounding the victim.

The hidden toll of silence

The glances, loyalties, silences, families that abandon you, colleagues who remain silent, and club doors that close are additional violences, she said. In sports, the power of a coach over very young athletes sometimes leaves traces that no one wants to see when they form. An old swimmer met on the day of the funeral told Laetitia Maignan about a memory that came back later. During a training camp, Maevi was called into the coach's room. Then the return. Nothing is visible. Nothing is said.

The burden of secrecy

Laetitia Maignan spoke of how victims are kept in secret and how they keep the secret, which terribly undermines them internally. She mentioned a woman from that time, whom she does not name, who told her that certain things were known. "It was normalized. We didn't have too many tools to do much. It's an intermediate thing that everyone knows and at the same time no one feels capable of doing anything. We have to continue and deal with it," she said.

Late courage and a call for change

Maevi Colomina had spoken nearly thirty years after the incidents she was denouncing. According to Le Parisien, she explained that she had buried this story for three decades before daring to take the step. She also said she had believed she was alone. Laetitia Maignan sees the heart of the case. An isolated victim, then a voice that is released too late. "When someone has the courage to speak out, it's very heavy. There are pressures. I can testify personally," she said.

A legacy of silence and solidarity

Laetitia does not only demand sanctions. She demands a deeper transformation. "The first thing a victim needs is for the perpetrator to recognize, apologize, so that we can rebuild." According to her, justice must be stronger, but it cannot remain alone at the end of the chain. The clubs, institutions, families, and supervisors must also learn to act before it is too late. At the funeral home in Nîmes on Wednesday, the crowd whispered it quietly. Maevi Colomina was no longer alone. But she was no longer there.