On the Creps athletics track, in the Bordeaux agglomeration, a dozen athletes warm up on small hurdles. Some have undergone amputations. Others like Maïa, 16, suffer from a motor disability. But all of them perform the same exercise.

"Even if they have different disabilities, they must try to avoid entering a situation of failure related to their pathology," explains Eric Vauvert, coach of the athletics pole at the Federal Centre for Disabled Sport, which also hosts a table tennis and wheelchair basketball centre.

"Come and scratch the ground. Come on!" While her training buddies practice the long jump, Maïa works on her sprint technique. In the line of sight, a qualification in the 100 and 200 meters at the World Para Athletics Championships in July, before considering participation in the Paralympic Games. An obsession for the young sprinter: "Since I started athletics, I think about it, it's always in the back of my mind."

'A revenge'

For Maéva Olivier, the ambition is the same. Suffering from tetraplegia, the 18-year-old table tennis player lets go of her blows, one hand on the left wheel of her wheelchair to move, and the other strapped to her racket because she has "not much sensitivity and strength to hold it".

In November, she will compete in her first international competition and aim for a Paralympic qualification. "Paris-2024 is a dream and a revenge for my disability. I want to take on this challenge" only three years after starting table tennis.

"Maéva has a huge progression," says Florian Raillard, coach of the table tennis division. After starting against able-bodied athletes, she joined the center two years ago and benefits from coaching adapted to disabled sports.

A young athlete with a disability, trains at CREPS (Centre de Ressources, d'Expertise et de Performance Sportives), in Talence, April 18, 2023 © THIBAUD MORITZ / AFP/Archives

"In his handicap class, we favor the placement of the ball in spaces where the opponent can not go", rather than the fast game of able-bodied table tennis players, analyzes Florian Raillard. "The coaches have disabled training, they give us adapted advice and it helps us to perform," adds Maéva.

"Before I came to the centre, I only trained twice a week at my club. I couldn't progress," recalls Maïa Strasser. Here, I practice every day and I have a set school schedule."

Access to the top level

"Our role is to support them on a dual sports and school project so that they can reach the teams of France hopefuls and seniors" mainly for the 2028 and 2032 Paralympic Games, explains Bastien Drobniewski, coordinator of the Federal Centre for Disabled Sport which since 2011 has been recruiting young athletes throughout the country.

Originally from Strasbourg, Modeste Hoffbeck joined the center last August to join the wheelchair basketball division. Only 17 years old, he is aiming for the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

"Since I've been here, I've had the Olympic goal in mind. And I think the center is the best place to progress," said the basketball player who trains all week with the team of France hopefuls. "We are accompanied by our coach, the manager of the division, we have access to physiotherapists. It's a driving force" to reach the top level.

Arriving at the Federal Centre for Disabled Sport four years ago, wheelchair athlete Yasser Musanganya, 20, believes he has "made enormous physical but also psychological progress". "The key point of the center is really the accompaniment," he says.

Senior France champion in the 100, 400 and 800 metres, he will aim for the minima for the Paralympic Games in May in Switzerland. "Paris-2024 is a real springboard for us, it is the +Champions League + of disabled sport", but it is above all a "step to take" for this athlete amputated both legs who dreams of becoming a model for young athletes, whether they are able-bodied or not.

© 2023 AFP