for sprinter Timothée Adolphe, in the 100m and 400m, the gold of revenge? – Libération

The Paralympic vice-champion in Tokyo arrives this Saturday, August 31 at the Stade de France as the big favorite in the 100m and 400m, T11 category. From his contrasting stay in Japan in 2021 to his recent European record a few weeks ago, a look back at three years of preparation.

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Telling the story of Timothée Adolphe is above all telling the story of frustration. The story of the injury that tarnishes months of work, the axe of an arbitrary decision that cancels the victory, the irreparable inattention of the duo that is paid cash. Because the 34-year-old para-athlete, a specialist in the 100 m and 400 m category T11, does not run alone. Visually impaired from birth, then blind at 19, he is connected to a guide by the hand that he traces on the track. On the phone, a few days before his entry into competition, the father makes the comparison with “a synchronized swimming choreography” : the duo can only shine by respecting scrupulous coordination, the strides perfectly in phase and the limbs which act “mirrored”. Two guides will accompany the athlete at the Stade de France: Charles Renard in the 100m, and Jeffrey Lami in the 400m. In athletics, the two distances that the runner loves are polar opposites, and require diametrically different explosiveness and technique.

A big week before his first lap