A medallist at each of her first three Paralympic Games, Mandy François-Elie is, at 34, one of the stars of French para-athletics. In Paris, the sprinter transferred her hopes of a podium finish, slimmer than before, to the long jump. Another Habs, Manon Genest, 31, world bronze medallist in 2023, will be present alongside her at the final on Sunday 1Ahem September, at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis).
The two thirty-somethings are competing in the T37 category (coordination disorders). In the first event of her Paralympic trilogy on Friday, Mandy François-Elie finished fifth in the 200 metres with a time of 28:20. “I pushed, I did everything necessary”It was world record holder Wen Xiaoyan of China who won in 25.86 seconds, well ahead of the competition.
In 2012, four years after a stroke that affected her when she was 18, the Martinican won the 100 metres to everyone’s surprise. “I couldn’t believe it, it was magical”I confided to him World Just a few days away from Paris 2024.
The athlete continued his momentum in 2016 at the Rio 2016 Games, winning a silver medal over the same distance, before winning bronze in 2021 in Tokyo, this time over the 200 metres. In 2013, he had already achieved the 100-200m double at the World Championships in Lyon.
Before the stroke that left her partially paralysed on the right side of her body, Mandy François-Elie was one of France’s hopes in the 400 metres. “I have been running since I was little”She says. Her passion for athletics accompanied her during her slow reconstruction. “Writing, speaking, walking, it was difficult. But you have to endure. Sport helped me a lot”duck.
A school in his name in Lamentin
For years, oral expression has been a challenge for the champion, who fights on the track and in her daily life to constantly combat her aphasia: “I have only become more expressive in recent years. At the beginning of my career, it was difficult.”
Under increasing pressure behind the starting blocks, the sprinter has opted, for two years now, to move towards jumping. She has been taking it up a notch lately. “more fun”. Qualified in the 100, 200 and long distance, it was in this last event where she believed, before the Games, she had the best chance of getting on the podium.
At the National Institute of Sport, Experience and Performance, Mandy François-Elie trains with former sprinter Dimitri Demonière and long jump specialist Robert Emmiyan. A model of resilience and sporting success, a university in her hometown of Lamentin already bears her name. Whether or not she manages to win a fourth Paralympic medal this weekend, the Martinican has nothing more to prove and will have one last chance in the 100 metres, where she will compete on Wednesday. After that, it will be time to think about the future.
