By means of a case study, the authors investigate the practice of high-level sports by young “slaves of glory”, who gain access to the position of demiurge through a disavowal of limits and a fantasy of omnipotence. When the reality of the body and of injuries comes rushing in, these champions start by asking for their “performance machine” to be restored, which gradually leads to an opening up of their inner world and to the emergence of complex pre-existing conflicts.

Adolescence, 2014, 32, 2, 295-306.