Having left England on Saturday 24 August, the Paralympic flame continues its journey in France. This Tuesday 27 August 2024, it arrives in Île-de-France where several torchbearers await it. Among them, Jeanne Le Pêcheur, a young paracyclist who has won several medals at the French championships. She will take over at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome. Interview.
Obviously, I said yes! I was really happy, I was jumping everywhere, literally.
The enthusiasm is immediately visible on the face of this young woman with blond hair. Carrying the Paralympic flame, Jeanne Le Pêcheur, 21, had not even imagined it. And neither had her loved ones!
I think I don’t realize it. At first, I couldn’t even sit up, I had to be tied up everywhere, so now, carrying the Paralympic flame is huge.
Today, the young athlete moves slowly, with the help of a cane. Born at five and a half months, she has suffered from cerebral palsy since childhood: a handicap… but not a hindrance. Passionate about sport, Jeanne discovered handcycling by chance, literally the “ bike with hands “, which is practiced lying down, a few centimeters from the ground.
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Diligent family training
She fell in love with it and threw herself into the discipline, going so far as to take part in the French championships several times.
The competition, at the beginning, I didn’t think about it, it started from a bet with my brother. I got started and I won bronze medals and the last time, the silver medal. It really helped me to clear my head, to think more about the handicap. Cycling brings me a feeling… of freedom!
The athlete trains several times a week, but never alone.
I have a little flag to tell cars I’m there, but often I don’t see the cars. So I need a chaperone with me.
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It can be in turn the village baker, a family friend or even… her father, Benjamin. He is also the one who will push Jeanne’s wheelchair during the torch relay at the velodrome.
The idea will be to represent Jeanne’s sport, handcycling, and it’s a way of thanking all those who accompanied and supported her.
For the athlete, carrying the flame is also an opportunity to raise awareness of disability and give hope.
I tell myself – perhaps naively – that through this symbol of the flame, the Olympics and sport, it can help some people accept their disability or a situation that they have difficulty accepting in order to get better afterwards. Since I accepted my disability, I have fun. It is not because you have a super thick fence in front of you that you cannot break it. If you want to break it, you break it. If you want to accept your disability, you accept it.
Jeanne intends to continue on her path, with one goal in mind: to participate in the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
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