“High-level athlete? I hadn’t been brought up in that spirit at all.I was borderline anti-competitive! » To hear it, nothing predestined Gaëlle Edon to aim for a qualification for the next Paralympic Games in Paris, in 2024. And for good reason, the French disabled champion in pistol shooting at 25 meters has come a long way: from a tragedy, then of a slow taming of his handicap.
Life changed the year he turned 24. Following a serious accident at work, Gaëlle Edon remains hemiplegic. The left side of his body no longer moves. This brutal observation was difficult to accept. With hindsight, the Savoyard admits having lived “a big period of denial”, after the accident. “I thought I was going to regain all my faculties and my life before. And then finally, the disability set in. »
Five years of admitting this twist of fate
From the hobbies that she must put aside to the inevitably modified human relationships, it takes her five years to admit her condition, even if, “Now I’m proud of it” she lets go. At the time, in order not to sink, this ball of energy launched into sport, with intensity. First, in paranautism, a kind of adapted navigation. The discipline pleases him but remains difficult to practice. “I then designed a navigation assistance system which received a first prize for innovation in 2016”, she explains.
Then, from rowing, she moved on to shooting. A surprising discipline when you know the explosive character of Gaëlle Edon. “I am hyperactive, I have to play sports every day. But shooting is my moment. It’s all about the mind she justifies. I have to ignore everything else, forget all the worries of everyday life. »
As she talks about her career, Gaëlle Edon indulges in a confidence: “I’m almost happy to have had the accident, because I have a life today that I never would have had. » Then the athlete resumes: “I love my life, but it’s a bit tiring to swallow pills all life. »
Between two competitions, the one that wishes to give visibility to the handicap, “too little known”, according to her, continues the interventions in the schools. Or walk the mountain. “Reaching a summit proves that I am capable of doing the same things as before. It’s worth all the gold medals. When you don’t go very far from death, it feels good to feel alive.This is my revenge. »