The Paralympic Games are here! And now that the competitions have begun,wheelchair fencing has just started its matches, after Taekwondo. On this Tuesday, September 3, at 3pm, we arrive on site to watch the round of 16 for the men's and women's sabre events, category B. And it's France's Maxime Valet who opens the ball.
We take our seats in the press box, high up, just opposite the runways. A cool breeze blows through the nave of the Grand Palais, whose roof is covered in white to keep out too much light and cool the space down a little during the heat. There's no need for air-conditioning with this (although it's there), and it's quite pleasant in early September.
The referees arrive... They line up on either side of the lanes, all in dark suits and ties, men and women, then position themselves in onion rows for the presentation, before dispatching themselves in threes to each lane. There are eight lanes in all, each subdivided into two, and color-coded: two yellow, two green, two blue and two red (one of each color for the repechage).
For the wheelchair fencing events at the Paralympic Games, the pistes are not very long (around 2.50 m), as the chairs are fixed to the floor to allow for touching, but above all a good range of movement for the athletes, who can therefore only move their upper body. Then the athletes arrive... All are pushed by a volunteer, as the wheelchair configurations don't necessarily allow them to move alone, even if some do.
The athletes are pushed onto the pistes by volunteers, and then the technical team secures the chairs to the pistes so that the athletes don't move. The athletes are positioned in staggered rows, to allow touching while offering the possibility of defending themselves and protecting the plastron. For this match, the Frenchman takes on China's Zhang Jie. Then the match begins... and the crowd goes wild for every point scored by the Frenchman. But the Frenchman loses ground, and finds himself trailing the Chinese 12-3 very quickly. The crowd goes wild, even waving flags and the giant heads seen in the stands since the Olympic Games, which caused a sensation. The shouts and cheers spread throughout the Grand Palais, enveloping Maxime Valet like a sweet candy to restore his strength.
In the stands, you can see French flags, but also Breton flags... Many schoolchildren are there, despite the start of the school year, all wearing the same clothes as a sign of recognition (no, it's not their uniforms) or the same caps. The ground vibrates as spectators tap their feet, also to encourage the athletes. Many French people are present, far more numerous than the foreigners who have come to support their respective countries.
Maxime Valet rallied (15-7), but it wasn't enough. He lost to the Chinese player, who will meet a compatriot, Feng Yanke, in the next round. It was short, but intense. And the final salute, of course, in accordance with the rules of fencing.
Then it was Cécile Demaude's turn in the Women's Round of 16, category B. She meets China's Lanzhu Ao. While we wait for the matches to start (the technical team sets up the chairs), the cameramen film the public and have fun with children waving their flags.
Seeing the pistes also brings back childhood memories of weekend fencing competitions in the Paris suburbs, sweating it out to win the scheduled matches, unfortunately in vain. One match followed another throughout the day, with parents cheering on their children. A festive atmosphere that we find here, in other circumstances, of course, but very similar in its perception at this time.
The match begins and quickly turns into a short one for the Frenchwoman, who quickly finds herself 7-0 down to the Chinesewoman within the first 10 seconds (the touches are very fast, and time is stopped at each touch). The match stops at 8-0, and the coaches come out to the piste to give the athletes some advice.
The technical staff take the opportunity to check that everything is in order. Then the match resumes. One touch followed another, with the Chinese fencer crushing Cécile Demaude, giving her no chance. The French fencer nonetheless scored two small points, which the French spectators in attendance made clear by exploding with joy at each validated touch.
Note that while this report was being written, Frenchman Ludovic Lemoine, in the repechage, category A, met Chinese Saichun Zhong. The Frenchman won 15-6... Shivers went down the spine at the moment of victory, not to mention the crazy crowd, who held their breath with every touch. The Frenchman advances to the second round of the repechage.
As for us, we're off to the archery range for new adventures, leaving behind this bubble of tension, joy, victory and competition, so dear and so unique. And an experience of a lifetime, forever etched in the brain.
