Disabled fans dream to the tune of the Paralympic Games – Libération

2024-09-04 15:57:00

At Club France, disabled fans, from all walks of life, admire and experience the excitement of the Paris 2024 Games, hoping that it will promote inclusion and the practice of disability sports in the long term.

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Under the metal structures of the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, there are hundreds leaning against the counter or sitting on the floor following the exploits of the athletes. With their eyes glued to the giant screen at Club France, they followed the live football match for the blind won by the Blues against Turkey on Tuesday 3 September. Mascots and tricolor flags accompany Sabine, 53, and her son Léo, 21. Both suffering from disabilities, they are in the front row following the celebrations. “We followed the Olympics and then the Paralympics closely, we went to see various events as a family. The sites are legendary. Sometimes it is difficult to access it, but here at Club France everything is done so that we can experience this event with fervor. Sabine testifies, her eyes glued to the screen. Suddenly, a goal for the French team: far from the silence of the blind stands (imposed on the public so as not to disturb the players), Sabine and her son smile at each other and shout with joy, in tune with the public. An exhilaration that unites them and that goes beyond the celebration of the sporting achievement: they see it as a sign of inclusion, solidarity and hope.

“Feeling represented”

Wearing a Phrygia, Léo is “in paradise”. He himself plays many disabled sports such as football, tennis and karate. Faced with competition, he allows himself to dream: “I want to participate in the Games… But what I want most of all is to be a standard bearer,” he says, firmly holding the plastic handle of his tricolor banner. The light dims, the spotlights come on on the podium, the jubilation begins. It’s time for the celebration, for the arrival of the medalists from the day before. It’s 9.45pm, Léo holds out his hand to touch the parabadminton athletes: Lucas Mazur, gold medal in the singles (SL4) and bronze medal in the doubles with Faustine Noël, also present, and Charles Noakes, also a champion Paralympic (SH6).

Same enthusiasm for Noa and Mélène, 15 years old. The two friends met thanks to disabled sports: one goes sailing, the other swims, both in Brest. I am one of the 24 correspondents of the Handisport Ambassadors association: they participate in training courses in which they are taught to talk about disabilities and defend the values ​​of sport and inclusion. With sailor shirts in the association’s colors on their shoulders, their visit to Paris marks a two-year journey: “After meeting all the other ambassadors and learning their stories, you can feel represented when you see the Paralympic athletes. It’s important and we tell each other that we all have the same daily life.” Noa rejoices. Even this evening in Paris, in the heart of the celebrations, is not just a moment of celebration for the two teenagers. It offers them a shared dream: that of complete inclusion in which sport becomes a vector of equality and recognition.

After the celebration, Sabine, thoughtfully, analyzes: “The important thing is not that they are all disabled, what matters is the performance. Otherwise we are in pathos. They are people like any other, with different backgrounds and doing superb things.” An example he imagines will be constructive for his son. This is also the observation of Hermann, 46 years old. The Swiss, former disabled athlete and now wheelchair basketball and shot put coach, came to participate “this great party”. “The organization is excellent, the party is beautiful, there are medals. This is the important thing, I make no difference between the Olympic and Paralympic Games in this sense.” he said.

“Visibility on the topic of disability”

What Yanis and Angelo, 15 and 16 years old, like is also the observation of a society that “seems to be moving forward” : “It warms my heart to see so many people at Club France, because disabled sports are starting to gain ground. When I arrived I had the impression that we were at the Olympics, there were so many people, I’m happy to see that it’s not because we have a disability that we can’t be loved by people”, reassures Yanis.

Looking at this line of cheerful young people, Hermann takes a step back: “This is the time to give visibility to the issue of disability and we hope that through these Games the authorities can address the issue of disability and improve accommodation, accessibilitythe possibility of having adequate equipment”. Smiles appear when the volunteers start shouting the names of the bad players to the beat of the music. He adds: “The objective of these games is also to be able to make young people dream, to be able to give them this flame and show them that there are organizations within which they can practice sports, and why not become champions, who knows?”