What if we shed a light on the parasport athletes who gave us incredible performances during the paralympic games? Today, Playmoovin’ wanted to talk about parasport athletes who push their limits and change the way people see disabilities.
Cédric Nankin: wheelchair rugby player
Cédric Nankin is an exceptional wheelchair rugby player who earned several paralympic-games medals and is a model for everyone. He started his career when he was 15 years old. He quickly raised to the level of the best defenders in the world thanks to his unrivalled strength and stamina.
Among his numerous titles, he obtained the bronze medal with his team at the Rio paralympic games in 2016. In 2024 he also got third place during the Paris paralympic games.
Thomas Jakobs: para-badminton player
Thomas Jakobs also inspires perseverance. He started his career as a tennis man and discovered para-badminton later in life.
He won his first international medal at the 2022 world championship in Japan in the doubles format alongside David Toupé.
In 2023, he won a bronze medal during the European games. His list of hits got bigger with a silver medal (in doubles) and a bronze medal (in singles) he obtained during the parasports championship in Rotterdam. He got to the semi-finals during the 2024 paralympic games in Paris.
Maxime Valet: wheelchair fencing
He started his career as a fencer but it is because he had an accident that Maxime Valet discovers wheelchair fencing. He rose very fast and he has a prestigious hit list. In 2011, he joined the French national team and won a gold medal with his team during the European championship.
He became world champion in 2015 and European champion in 2017.
He also won 3 bronze medals in foil fencing and one other bronze medal during the paralympic games in Tokyo.
Pauline Déruolède: a rising wheelchair tennis athlete
She is one of the most inspiring athletes and her courage and her story are a model of determination. After her leg was amputated in 2018, she refuses to let go of tennis and let her disability win. She quickly turns to wheelchair tennis and quickly wins her first titles. She proudly represents France in national and international tournaments.
Stéphane Houdet: a wheelchair tennis athlete
Stéphane Houdet is without a doubt an unmissable wheelchair tennis athlete who won a grand slam and several paralympic medals. This sport legend also won several major titles in singles as well as in doubles.
Stéphane Houdet is also a wheelchair tennis pioneer. He puts a lot into parasport and more specifically into the development of wheelchair tennis in France. In parallel, he strives to improve the living conditions of parasport athletes.
Jenna Abodjan: a sitting volleyball athlete
Jeanna Abodjan is the captain of the French sitting volleyball team. She led her teammates with unmatched pride during the 2024 paralympic games. It must be said that she does not have to prove her talent anymore.
Her career inspires self-surpassing values. Even though her team did not get on the podium during the 2024 Paris paralympic games, their performances made so that this sport gained in popularity.
Arnaud Assoumani: a long-jump champion
Parasport athletes do not just thrive in team sports. The French parasport athletics team can also be proud of having people with exemplary careers, as it is the case for Arnaud Assoumani for instance.
This long jump champion has won an impressive number of medals since the beginning of his career in 2003 in long jumping and triple jumping. He won bronze at the 2004 Athens games and gold at the 2008 Pekin games.
He got fifth at the 2024 Paris games, but even without a medal, he remains a true sport ambassador for the inclusion and the accessibility of and for disabled people.
Marie-Amélie le Fur: an all-around athlete
Marie-Amélie le Fur is the parasport committee president as well as an all-around parasport athlete getting hit after hit: long jump, sprint, etc. Her feats are numerous.
She is 9-times medal-winning in parasports and she holds several records including:
- 2 records during the 2016 Rio games
- and 1 other record during the European championship held in Berlin
She also shows her determination and her commitment in favour of inclusion and of the development of everything surrounding the help of disabled people.
These parasport athletes are proof that disabilities are not an obstacle. These champions are true models for future generations and they leave a priceless heritage: the ability to believe in oneself, to go beyond the obstacles and to build a better world.
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