The French para-cycling star is a great chance for a medal at the Paralympic Games.
Don’t look for the Léon Marchand of the Paralympic Games, the costume could fit perfectly to para cyclist Alexandre Léauté. The Frenchman, multiple world champion, is one of the great medal chances of the French delegation at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Flag bearer of the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Games, Alexandre Léauté left with four medals: silver for the kilometer, bronze for the time trial and the road race and above all, a gold for the individual pursuit where he broke the world record.
Despite a rich record, the Frenchman was close to depression in 2024 as he explained after the World Track Championships from which he left with 4 medals (he now has 19 including 6 on the road).It was really not going well until very recently.he slips. The only thing that saved me a little was the bike. But I didn’t give up. I wanted to say yes to everything so as not to offend anyone. I was afraid of being unpleasant. But I had to get over this, to learn to say ‘no’. I ended up understanding that if I didn’t do it, it was my body that would give way. My head had already given way… I didn’t feel justified in feeling badhe verbalizes. I’m living a crazy life, I live from my job, lots of people would dream of being in my place. In my life, everything is extraordinary while I know that, for some, it’s difficult to get up in the morning to go to work. I couldn’t allow myself to complain.”
Stroke at birth
Alexandre Léauté suffered a stroke resulting in partial impairment of his motor skills and depriving him of 95% of the power of the right side of his body since birth. “I have had right hemiplegia since birth. It is a more or less severe impairment of the motor skills of the right side of my body which causes several deficiencies (spasticity, problems straightening my arm and leg, foot deformation, loss of muscle strength and total insensitivity in my lower and upper limbs)” explained the Frenchman in an interview for Bleus handisport.
His track record
- 2024 – Track World Championships
- Rio de Janeiro : Gold medal – 3km pursuit C2 / Gold medal – Km C2 / Gold medal – Scratch C2 / Gold medal – Omnium C2 / Silver medal – 500m CLM C5 / Silver medal – Omnium C4
- 2023 – European Road Championships
- Rotterdam: Gold Medal – Time Trial / Gold Medal – Road Race
- 2023 – World Championships
- Glasgow : Gold Medal – Pursuit / Gold Medal – Omnium / Gold Medal – Kilometer / Gold Medal – Time Trial / Gold Medal – MC2 Road Race / Bronze Medal – MC2 Scratch
- 2022 – World Championships
- Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (France) : Gold Medal – Pursuit C2 / Gold Medal – Kilometer C2 / Gold Medal – Omnium C2 / Gold Medal – Scratch C2 / Silver Medal – Team Sprint
- Baie Comeau Route (Canada): Silver Medal – Time Trial / Gold Medal – Road Race C2
- 2022 – European Road Championships
- Austria: Gold Medal – C2 Time Trial and C2 Road Race
- 2021 – Paralympic Games
- Tokyo: Gold Medal – Track Race 3000m Pursuit C2 / Silver Medal – Track Race Time Trial C1-3 / Bronze Medal – Road Race Time Trial C2 / Bronze Medal – Road Race Online C1-3
- 2021 – Road World Championship
- Cascais : Gold Medal – Road Race C2 / Gold Medal – Time Trial C2
- 2020 – Track World Championship
- Milton : Gold Medal – 1km Time Trial C2 / Gold Medal – Omnium C2 / Silver Medal – Pursuit C2 / Bronze Medal – Scratch Race
- 2019 – Road World Championship
- Emmen : Gold Medal – Road Race C2/4th place – Time Trial C2