“September 1st, in the morning, at Les Invalides. The crazy thing is that it’s my mom’s birthday that day. » In addition to knowing the date and place by heart, it is quite a symbol for him. For years, he has only thought about this enchanted parenthesis that he is about to experience. That day, Damien Letulle will be in the heart of the capital, camped on the shooting range of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, to try to bring back the most beautiful medal for France.
And, at the same time, he will make history forever by becoming the first Frenchman to compete in an edition of the Games as an able-bodied person and then another as a para-athlete. “I have my head in my head so much that I don’t necessarily think about it. From morning until evening, I only think about training…”, admits Damien Letulle, who trains three times a week at Creps de Nantes.
After Atlanta 1996, he fell to Insep
Because yes, at the Atlanta Games in 1996, the Norman was also there, standing, without his wheelchair, with the label of one of the best archers in France on his back. From his stay in Georgia (United States), he retains a bitter taste, not having had the expected result. The Coubertin spirit isn’t really his thing. “We had just won the team world record in Germany with Sébastien Flute and Lionel Torres, so we thought we would get a medal…, confides the Calvadosian, native of Bayeux. But we were beaten in the round of 16 by one point by Finland. We had perhaps forgotten that there were matches to go through before the medal (laughs). »
” To take revenge “, he set off body and soul towards the Sydney 2000 Olympics. But he would never see Australia. Because Damien Letulle is two lives in one. A first standing and able-bodied. A second seat and disabled. It was fragmented into two pieces following a tragic accident in 1997 at Insep, rendering him quadriplegic. “I went out to the terrace and sat on a skydome (roof porthole) which broke under my weight. Some friends said to me afterwards: “We’ve done it plenty of times and nothing ever happened…” A stroke of bad luck,” agrees the double bronze medalist at the European Championships in 1996.
His spine is severed, his neck is broken, his fingers no longer respond… The archer is in a coma for three weeks and, without knowing it, is already thinking about the new life that will open up for him. “My dreams were nice, I already saw myself in a wheelchair, but with a rather pleasant life. On the other hand, I didn’t see myself shooting arrows.” the athlete laughs.
When I saw the disabled sports, I said to myself: ”It’s good for them, it keeps them busy!”.
— Damien Letulle, para-archer of the French team
At Les Invalides, where the Paris 2024 shooting events will take place, ” and…
2024-02-10 05:50:06
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