LGBT + – “Another fight awaits me”. Dimitri Pavadé, silver medalist in the T64 long jump in Tokyo, came out this Saturday, September 7, in a long message published on his Instagram account. The man who finished just off the podium at the 2024 Paralympics hopes to give courage to high-level athletes who do not assume their homosexuality.
Paris 2024 Olympics: Dimitri Pavadé, Paralympic athlete and ambassador of the flame with a meteoric career
The 35-year-old from Reunion Island, who lost his leg after a serious accident at work, states loudly and clearly in his post: “Yes, I am SHORT, MIXED-RACE, ONE-LEGGED, and to add insult to injury, GAY!!!!!!”, as you can read below.
Nothing to hide
After fought for “to be an icon for people with disabilities”Dimitri Pavadé explains that he now has a “second fight to be waged with [s]the LGBTQIA+ community”. And continues: “I hope to give strength and courage also to those people still in the CLOSET or to those HIGH-LEVEL SPORTSMEN who do not dare to live openly and freely this freedom which is rightfully ours.”
The Paralympic champion continues to address his readers: “Disability is not something to be hidden or ashamed of, and neither is your sexual orientation, so embrace who you are and remember that you are not alone.” ».
Since this speech, the athlete has received a large number of messages of support. In a comment on his Instagram post, the Frenchman Arnaud Assoumani, Paralympic champion in 2008, 5th in the T47 long jump at the Paris Paralympics, thanked him in particular for his « force » : “Today you become an icon and a role model for millions of other people.”. Clarisse Agbegnenou, judoka who won an individual bronze medal at the Olympic Games, also supported him: “Never change!!!! Thank you for being who you are my kaf”.
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