He is number 1 in France in para-badminton. Mathieu Thomas hid his disability for 10 years. Today, he is making it a strength and hopes to inspire society with his participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Sport has always been an integral part of Mathieu Thomas’ life. Passionate about the orange ball at a younger age, he grew up in the era where Michael Jordan was at his “prime” and was greatly inspired by this legendary player. “I played basketball very young, because I like team sports,” says the man who is 1.92 m tall.
Fear of how others look
But at 17, he had to stop playing basketball. Doctors diagnosed him with tumor cancer in the lower abdomen. “To remove this tumor, we had to cut the nerve that supplies the quadriceps of the right thigh. I have paralysis in this thigh, no more sensitivity, no more motor skills,” he explains.
After the operation, the medical staff told him that he would no longer be able to walk like before. A hard blow for the teenager of the time. “At that age, I had difficulty accepting it in relation to the image we have of it. Society still has an image of a disabled person who is not capable, who is in a wheelchair. I didn’t see myself in that.”
From the end of his adolescence to his 30s, disability remained a difficult subject for him to discuss. He then decides to “hide” it. “I immerse myself in my studies, get my engineering degree and then I move on with my life as if it could end overnight.”
“I had a hard time mourning my past life”
Determined to prove that disability is a strength, the former basketball player returned to sport at the age of 25 to rebuild his life. “I was very frustrated and still adjusting to this new body. I had difficulty mourning my past life,” he says.
Cycling, swimming, Mathieu Thomas practices all the sports that doctors advise him to resume without “traumatizing” his leg.
Once his leg is strengthened and his confidence regained, the competitive spirit resurfaces. As he approached his thirties, he became interested in the Paralympic Games for the first time. “At the age of 30, I say to myself, ‘but where are you going’? Little existential crisis in your thirties. I’m trying to find meaning in my life. I undertake lots of things, but I really want to know what could motivate me with my uniqueness. I then launched this dream of making the Paralympic Games.
Coincidentally, in 2015, the French badminton federation launched its first French para-badminton championships. “This is how you find out that parabadminton exists. I go at it, telling myself that I can try. I fell in love with this sport and got myself classified internationally with competitive goals to see how far it could take me.”
The Tokyo games: dthe dream to disillusionment
Mathieu Thomas then went on to win competitions and titles (first French champion title in 2015). In 2016, another turnaround. “They announce that parabadminton is entering the Games in Tokyo for the first time. So I switched to daily training for 4 years and I gave up my job to become a professional athlete,” he continues.
Unfortunately, the player narrowly missed qualifying for the 2020 Paralympics despite good results and the bronze medal obtained in 2017 at the world championships. “I came in 7th in the world and I had to be in the top 6 in the world. This dream that I had of participating in the first Games is gone. It was really hard for me, it still left after-effects,” he says.
After this disappointment, he began intensive mental and physical preparation work for the Paris 2024 Games. “I still have 6 months of qualification until March 2023, then I will have 5 months of preparation left to seek to be in peak form during the Games,” he explains.
To achieve this, the athlete can obviously count on the unwavering support of his staff. “I am constantly trying to organize myself as a business leader for this objective, to perform at the Games and also to be able to transmit and prepare my post-career around corporate awareness.”
The desire to raise awareness about invisible disabilities
Because beyond the desire to win Olympic gold, Mathieu Thomas also hopes, thanks to his participation, to raise awareness of the invisible disability which affects 80% of disabled people according to theAPF France handicap. “By being a high-level athlete and representing France, I am also given the floor,” he says.
But this social impact so desired by the para-athlete cannot be achieved without media coverage. During the last Games, France Télévisions devoted 100 hours to broadcasting the Paralympic Games compared to 3,600 hours and up to 30 live broadcasts for the Olympic Games.
“The big difference between able-bodied sports and para sports is that able-bodied sport has a whole financial ecosystem with media coverage and sponsors who are ready to put in money for TV broadcasts, something that we don’t have. not in para,” regrets Mathieu Thomas, who hopes that these Paris Games will be “highlighted more”.
“The idea is to show society that all these people who surpass themselves have dreams, strong objectives to seek medals,” he ends.
The Paralympic Games ticket office opens this Monday, October 9, 2023 on a first-come, first-served basis. It will be accessible to all, without a draw.
2023-10-09 06:14:18
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