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A team from France Télévisions followed wheelchair basketball champion Sofyane Mehiaouileader of the France team, who dreams of taking part in the Paris Games.
Sofiane Mehiaoui has basketball tattooed on his arms and Olympic shivers in his head. In the locker room, he and his teammates have basketball pegged to the body. To play in a wheelchair, you must also know how to handle the key of 10. “Of course, we have wheels, we have bearings. There is a clamping system to hold on to to avoid falling, to be able to get on a wheel so it’s important to do a little mechanics, “explains the player. In training, the intensity is at its maximum. At 39, Sofyane’s motivation Mehiaoui is increased tenfold by the Paris 2024 Games.
“You always have to be 200% in training to be 100% in a match, so for the Paralympic Games, you have to be 300%, I say that in training”believes the basketball player. In this discipline, women and men play together. The able-bodied can even play, with an armchair. The field is the same as in traditional basketball, as is the height of the baskets, at 3.05 meters. Something to arouse admiration. France was already Olympic champion of the Games in 1984. “It’s a dream because wheelchair basketball is a sport in its own right. He developed all over the world and in France, unfortunately, we stayed a little behind so suddenly, I want to help him get back to his place.“, says Sofiane Mehiaoui. The player already sees himself descending the Champs-Elysees and Place de la Concorde, where the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games will take place.