The Paralympic Games end this weekend in Beijing and there is still one test left for Arthur Bauchet, 21, from Var, but the young man has already marked this 2022 edition with his three medals around his neck: two in gold and one in bronze. . Suffering from spastic paraparesis, an invisible genetic disease, we saw him weakened in the arrival area in Beijing after his descent on Thursday March 10, but he is an always smiling and combative boy who gave some of his time to France Bleu Provence from Beijing.
Question: How are you doing Arthur Bauchet, two gold medals, another bronze won yesterday, do you realize today what is around your neck?
Arthur Bauchet: No, honestly, I don’t really realize yet what I just did there on these Games. It’s really crazy, but I tell myself that it’s good that I don’t realize right away because I still have one race left. And then afterwards, I will have all my time to make these magnificent games.
You start pretty well. We talked a lot, it’s true, about your two gold medals. Doesn’t the one from yesterday (the bronze) have a slightly special flavor because we saw these rather strong images… We saw you collapsed in the finish area, lying down for several minutes, no doubt exhausted by the effort you have just made.
Yes, that’s it yesterday. So, as I say, it’s not a gold medal. But this bronze medal is worth gold because I really went for it. I pushed myself. I really pushed my limits on these and went beyond what I thought, beyond my physical abilities. That’s why downstairs, I had a crisis, a crisis of my illness for a year, for almost half an hour. I also made the temporary podium on a wheelchair, surrounded by two doctors. So, it was pretty crazy and that’s why I’m still very proud to bring her home.
And what’s quite as surprising about you is that when people see you like that, Artur Bauchet doesn’t realize your handicap. You have spastic paraparesis, a clearly invisible genetic disease. What does it do to you?
Yes, that’s it when you don’t know me you can believe that I am valid. In fact I walk most of the time on crutches. Below the knees I no longer control my nervous system. So that’s really where I’m most affected. After that it goes up to the pelvis and in fact, it causes a little cramping type pain and spasticity, that is to say involuntary movements in the legs. And that’s why yesterday, I had big seizures where all my muscles contracted, I couldn’t control them. It’s not very nice when muscles like the quadriceps or the calves contract without you being able to do anything.
And that also means that for you to go down a ski slope, it’s a huge physical effort.
Yes, that’s it exactly. Especially since there are still demanding slopes, we are on the same slopes as the able-bodied, so real Olympic slopes and the snow is very demanding too. But hey, that’s what we love about high-level sport. We like, we like to surpass ourselves.
Is it also somewhere that relieves you of skiing? You started at the age of 5 when you were born in the Var. Wasn’t it necessarily easy to become a professional skier?
No, that’s for sure. I was born in Saint-Tropez, I lived in Grimaud for 15 years, I grew up there and it was my mum who was good at skiing. She loved it, she showed it to the whole family. We all got hooked and ended up going up to Serre-Chevalier every weekend for nearly ten years. So we left Grimaud on Friday evening after school, and we returned on Sunday evening after skiing. So it was crazy and for sure it really gave me this taste, this love of skiing. And today, I made it my job. It’s more than my passion. Now it’s my job and it’s the best job in the world.
In any case, three medals. So already, as we said, you still have another possible medal in slalom, your favorite discipline, you’re in good shape or with everything you’ve already done, you’ll be fine.
Yes that’s it. She’s my best. My best chance, let’s say who arrives at the end, so afterwards, it’s going to be physically difficult. I have already surpassed myself on the super, on the giant. There, I will have to surpass myself even more. But hey, it’s the last day, so we’ll have to give it our all. Even if after you pick yourself up with a teaspoon, it doesn’t matter. At least, I will have given everything on the slalom.