Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: Team EDF Athletes ready to compete

Alexandra NOUCHET: the medal collector

Born with a malformation in her right leg, Alexandra Nouchet began her high-level sports career as a para swimmer. After 12 years in the pool, with a remarkable haul of 30 national medals and 9 international ones, she transitioned to para athletics in 2018. Her three favorite events? The 100 meters, long jump, and shot put. With already 3 French records to her name, and a world record...

Age: 26

Birth City: Lille (Nord)

Event: Shot Put Personal

Best: 10.64 meters (WR)

Her Greatest Sports Achievements

World Championships

4^th in Shot Put in 2024

European Championships

4^th in Long Jump in 2021

Angelina LANZA: always faster and further!

Running and long jumping are the strengths of this para-athlete from Togo, who moved to France at the age of 2. The polio she contracted as a child left her with a disability in her left arm. Since 2016, she has been amassing medals at European and World Championships. She dreams of adding a Paralympic title to her impressive record...

Age: 31

Country of Birth: Togo

Events: 200 meters, Long Jump

Personal Bests

200 meters: 26.60
Long Jump: 5.30 meters

Her Greatest Sports Achievements

World Championships

1 Bronze Medal (Long Jump in 2017)

European Championships

2 Gold Medals (200 meters and Long Jump in 2018)
3 Bronze Medals (100 meters, 200 meters, and Long Jump in 2016)

Arnaud ASSOUMANI: chasing a sixth Paralympic medal

Born without a left forearm, Arnaud tried various sports, including swimming, before discovering athletics at the age of 11. He has already earned 5 Paralympic medals in long jump: bronze in 2004 and 2016, silver in 2012, and gold in 2008. A Sciences Po graduate, he is also highly involved with several organizations. Among them, Play International aims to use sport as a tool for education and social change.

Age: 38

Birth City: Orsay (Essonne)

Event: Long Jump

Personal Best: 7.82 meters

His Greatest Sports Achievements

Paralympic Games

1 Gold Medal in 2008
1 Silver Medal in 2012
1 Bronze Medal in 2004 and 2016

World Championships

2 Gold Medals in 2006 and 2011
1 Silver Medal in 2017
1 Bronze Medal in 2013

Benjamin DAVIET: from ski slopes to rowing basins

After contracting a hospital-acquired infection from an accident during his teenage years, Benjamin Daviet had to learn to live with a stiff leg. This did not prevent him from becoming a legend in French para sports, having earned 10 Paralympic medals and 9 world championship titles in cross-country skiing and biathlon. In 2017, he discovered para rowing and became vice-champion of France in this new discipline in 2023.

Age: 35

Birth City: Annecy (Haute-Savoie)

Event: Mixed Double Sculls (a boat in which each of the two rowers uses two oars)

His Greatest Sports Achievements

Winter Paralympic Games

5 Gold Medals
1 Silver Medal and 4 Bronze Medals in cross-country skiing and biathlon

Dimitri PAVADÉ: after Silver, could Gold be next?

Amputated of his right tibia in 2007 following a work accident, the Réunion Island native came to mainland France to train as an orthoprothesis technician. There, he discovered para athletics and learned to run and jump with a blade. Just four years after his debut, his jump of 7.95 meters earned him the title of 2019 World Championship runner-up in his category! In 2021, he won silver at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Could gold be awaiting him in Paris?

Age: 35

Birth City: Le Port (La Réunion)

Event: Long Jump

Personal Best: 7.77 meters

His Greatest Sports Achievements

Paralympic Games

Silver Medal in 2021

World Championships

Silver Medal in 2019

European Championships

Silver Medal in 2021

Dorian FOULON: Gold at the finish nine

This cycling enthusiast reached the top of the podium at his very first Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Will he defend his title in Paris? His three gold medals at the World Championships in Rio a few months ago, in the omnium, scratch race, and pursuit, are promising... Born with a malformation in his left foot, Dorian underwent surgery at an early age. Despite having 50% less power in his left leg compared to his right, he initially competed against able-bodied cyclists before being noticed by professional para-cycling teams.

Age: 26

Birth City: La Chapelle-Caro (Morbihan)

Event: Para-cycling

His Greatest Sports Achievements

Paralympic Games

1 Gold Medal (individual pursuit in 2021)

World Championships

7 Gold Medals (individual pursuit, omnium, and scratch race in 2020, 2022, and 2024)

Élodie LORANDI: like a frog in water

She discovered swimming at the age of 3 in a rehabilitation pool to treat the rare disease that paralyzes her left leg. Since then, medals have followed for the athlete nicknamed "Frog" because of her comfort in the water. After taking a break from her sports career to become a mother in 2021, she decided to return to competition and aims to climb back onto the Paralympic podium.

Age: 35

Birth City: Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes)

Events

50m Freestyle
100m Freestyle
400m Freestyle

Personal Bests

50m Freestyle : 28.94
100m Freestyle: 1:01.61
400m Freestyle: 4:32.93

Her Greatest Sports Achievements

Paralympic Games

1 Gold Medal (400m Freestyle in 2012)
2 Silver Medals (200m Individual Medley and 100m Freestyle in 2008 and 2012)
4 Bronze Medals (50m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly in 2012, 100m Freestyle and 400m Freestyle in 2016)

World Championships

2 Gold Medals (200m Individual Medley in 2007, 400m Freestyle in 2013)
4 Silver Medals (100m Freestyle in 2007, 50m Freestyle and 100m Freestyle in 2013, 400m Freestyle in 2015)
1 Bronze Medal (100m Butterfly in 2013)

Flora VAUTIER: the young table tennis prodigy

Paraplegic following a car accident in 2015, Flora discovered para table tennis in a rehabilitation center. She progressed quickly and even managed to win a gold medal in doubles and a silver medal in singles at the 2022 European Para Youth Games. This summer, she’s competing in her first Paralympic Games and is determined to reach the podium, following in the footsteps of the Lebrun brothers.

Age: 19

Birth City: Villepinte (Seine-Saint-Denis)

Event: Para Table Tennis

Her Greatest Sports Achievements

European Para Youth Games

1 Gold Medal (Women's Doubles in 2022)
1 Silver Medal (Singles in 2022)

World Championships

1 Bronze Medal in Women's Doubles in 022

European Championships

1 Bronze Medal in Women's Doubles in 2023

Gwladys LEMOUSSU: on the quest for another Paralympic medal

Born with a congenital malformation that led to the amputation of her left forearm, this sports enthusiast tried several disciplines before choosing para-triathlon at the age of 16. She became the French champion and world runner-up in 2016, and made history by becoming the first French Paralympic medalist in her discipline, winning bronze in Rio.

Age: 35

Birth City: Paris

Event: Para-Triathlon

Personal Best: 1h12min02

Her Greatest Sports Achievements

Paralympic Games

1 Bronze Medal in 2016

World Championships

1 Silver Medal in 2016
1 Bronze Medal in 2017

European Championships

2 Silver Medals in 2017 and 2022
3 Bronze Medals in 2016, 2018, and 2023

Heïdi GAUGAIN: the rising star of Para-Cycling

Being born without a left forearm hasn’t slowed Heïdi down—her impressive track record proves it. Since 2019, she has consistently reached podiums and claimed titles. She also competes in able-bodied cycling, making history as the first para-athlete to become a world champion in both cycling and para-cycling. The only thing missing from her collection is Paralympic gold, which she aims to win this summer before competing as an able-bodied athlete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Age: 19

Birth City: Saint-Georges-sur-Evre (Mayenne)

Events: 500m Track, Individual Pursuit Track, Road Time Trial, Road Race

Her Greatest Sports Achievements

World Championships

2 Gold Medals (Track Individual Pursuit in 2023 and 2024)
2 Silver Medals (Track Individual Pursuit in 2022, Road Race in 2023)
1 Bronze Medal (Track Omnium in 2022, Road Time Trial in 2023)

Manon GENEST: the multi-talented prodigy

After 16 years of swimming, Manon’s life took a dramatic turn in 2015 when a car accident left her partially hemiplegic on her left side. During her rehabilitation, she discovered para sports and achieved the incredible feat of becoming a world champion in para-triathlon just one year after her accident. She later transitioned to para-athletics, winning France's first medal at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris with a bronze in long jump.

Age: 31

Birth City: Châteauroux (Indre)

Event: Long Jump

Personal Best: 4.72 meters

Her Greatest Sports Achievements

Paralympic Games

4^th place in long jump in 2021

World Championships

1 Gold Medal (Para-triathlon in 2016)
1 Bronze Medal (Long jump in 2023)

Ugo DIDIER: the prodigy of Para Swimming

Born with a malformation in both legs, Ugo Didier cannot run or jump—but he can swim, and fast! He became the world champion in the 100-meter backstroke just months before taking his high school exams. At only 18 years old, he went on to win silver and bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Alongside his career as a top athlete, Ugo is also pursuing an engineering degree in civil engineering in Toulouse.

Age: 22

Birth City: Le Chesnay (Yvelines)

Events

400 meters freestyle
50 meters freestyle
100 meters backstroke
200 meters individual medley
4x100 meters medley relay

Personal Bests

400 meters freestyle: 4'15''35 50 meters
freestyle: 25''79 100 meters
backstroke: 1'00''42 200 meters
individual medley: 2'16''15

His Greatest Sports Achievements

Paralympic Games

1 Silver Medal (400 meters freestyle in 2021)
1 Bronze Medal (200 meters individual medley in 2021)

World Championships

1 Gold Medal (100 meters backstroke in 2017)
10 Silver Medals (100 meters backstroke in 2019, 200 meters individual medley, 400 meters freestyle, 100 meters backstroke, and 100 meters freestyle in 2022, 200 meters individual medley, 100 meters backstroke, 100 meters, 400 meters, and 4x100 meters freestyle in 2023)