Every week, Théo Curin takes champions linked to the Paris 2024 Games into his taxi. Travel in the company of paracyclist Dorian Foulon, reigning Paralympic champion.
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Tomorrow the Games is an event in partnership with France 3, as part of the show To the Games, citizens! THE Para-swimming world vice-champion, Théo Curin, becomes Théo the Taxi, and gets into his car a personality or a champion, linked to the Paris 2024 Games. Here Dorian Foulon, Paralympic champion in Tokyo in a road race. An exchange that Théo Curin recounts to Fabrice Rigobert.
franceinfo: So you had the chance to transport a reigning Olympic champion?
Yes, Dorian Foulon is a four-time world champion and, indeed, Paralympic pursuit champion in Tokyo. This Breton, only 25 years old, practices his discipline both on the road and on the track, in the M category. The particularity, for Dorian, is that his handicap – a club foot – is not visible, as he tells me. ‘told : “Children of my age, in primary school, told me that I had no handicap, and that I was like them. It was very hard to live with. Sport allowed me to realize myself and show that despite this handicap, we can achieve great things.”
Is changing the way we look at disability a crucial subject for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games?
Of course. The Games must play a crucial role in improving the inclusion and integration of people with disabilities in society. There is still a lot of work to be done, but things are really changing. This is clearly evident in the fields of sport, where Paralympic athletes are increasingly recognized as sportspeople in their own right.
This development is also reflected in public attitudes, sponsor commitment and media coverage. This column with you is a good concrete example.
Dorian Foulon devotes a lot of time to training. Does he also have a little secret to success?
Exactly: he listens to music to concentrate, but not just any music, it’s quite special! These are superhero movie scores. He assumes it perfectly: “It allows me to put myself in my bubble, to transcend myself, to say to myself, ‘You may be nice in life, but now it’s war’. Superheroes always surpass themselves. They are always there for the others. But I try to be a lot of mutual aid, too.” Let us add that one of the weaknesses of superheroes is that they are often too nice, even if it means no longer thinking about them. This sometimes happens to Dorian Foulon.
Totally affordable in life, he becomes formidable on his bike?
Yes, that’s quite extraordinary when you meet Dorian. Besides, he wants to remain the best and he knows that he is eagerly awaited in Paris: “The hardest part is not getting to the top, but staying there. You become the target. I sometimes confront able-bodied cyclists, to put myself in difficulty and be able to work even harder on competitions.”
This method of training with able-bodied people gives him the hope of retaining his Paralympic title, at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome, in front of his audience. He wants to get a second gold medal, like that, with all simplicity.