After competing in the Olympic Games, these two athletes will once again be competing in Paris for the Paralympic Games. How is this possible?
For Melissa Tapper and Bruna Costa Alexandre, the competition is not over after the Olympic Games. The Australian and the Brazilian will in fact participate in the Paralympic Games in the next fortnight, after competing with the able-bodied athletes just a few weeks ago. Both athletes are table tennis players and are the only ones to have managed to qualify for both competitions.
This is not the first time that athletes have participated in the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games in the same year. The first was the Italian Paola Fantato at the Atlanta Games in 1996, in archery. In 2008 and 2012, two athletes also participated in both competitions: the Polish Natalia Partyka in table tennis and the South African Natalie du Toit in swimming. The most high-profile example of this dual participation is undoubtedly the South African runner Oscar Pistorius who, in 2012, in London, became the first amputee athlete to participate in athletics events at the Olympic Games, in the 400m.
While Paralympic athletes must certify their disability to specialists in order to participate in a given classification, in principle there is nothing to prevent para athletes from participating in the Olympic Games unless equipment, such as a prosthesis, is likely to benefit performance. The qualification of Melissa Tapper and Bruna Costa Alexandre for the Olympic Games is therefore linked to their world ranking among able-bodied athletes, but also to the competition in their respective countries.
This is the third time that Australian Melissa Tapper has competed at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the same edition, after Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021. Although she was eliminated in the first round of the singles draw at the Olympic Games this year, she has big ambitions for the Paralympic Games. Lined up in singles and mixed doubles, she hopes to bring home a medal.
Tapper could find Bruna Costa Alexandre, who plays in the same para table tennis classification, WS10, in her path. The Brazilian is currently ranked third in the world, and has her sights set on winning at least one medal. “In the Paralympics, I have the dream of winning the gold medal in the individual event. But if I am a finalist, I will already be happy,” she said before the competition.
No French athlete has so far participated in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, whether in different editions or in the same year. But two French athletes are dreaming of it for the Los Angeles Games in four years. They are Dorian Foulon and Heidi Gaugain. The two track cyclists dominate their discipline, and Heidi Gaugain has even signed a professional contract with an able-bodied team and participated in the Tour of Burgos with the able-bodied. She is also the junior world champion on the road.