Émeline Pierre, swimmer from Brest, will participate in the Paralympic Games

His selection was hardly in doubt, it is now official. Émeline Pierre will participate in the Paralympic Games in Paris at the end of August. “It’s a relief,” the 24-year-old swimmer told us when she announced the good news this Thursday, June 20, 2024. She will compete in four events: 50 and 100 m freestyle, 100 m backstroke and 4×100 m freestyle.

The sportswoman, licensed by the Brest Swimmers’ Circle, is having a great season. Chaining together good performances. Last April, at the European Championship, she won two silver medals (100m freestyle and 4x100m relay) and a bronze in the 50m freestyle.

Get on the podium

Émeline Pierre will experience her second Games after those in Tokyo in 2021 where she finished 8^e in 100m backstroke. She is clearly aiming for the podium in Paris. “It’s still sprinting, which is played on the sidelines. We’ll have to be present 100% », confides the young woman, handicapped by a loss of mobility and strength in her right elbow and wrist, following a failed surgical operation after a fall on the balance beam in 2013, at the age of 13. The former gymnast, now high-level swimmer, is ready.

These are Games at home, we are expected. We know there will be pressure, we will try to break away from it.

The twenty-year-old chose to stay in Brest before joining the French team in mid-August in Limoges. ” I need stay in my environment, to be at home. » The training schedule promises to be intense: “It’s the last line. It’s necessary stay focusedand serene. »

“Brest welcomed me with open arms”

Émeline Pierre arrived in Brest in April 2022. A new start for the sportswoman, originally from Pau, who needed a change of scenery after 7 years at the Vichy Handisport Hope Center, integrated in 2015. “Brest welcomed me from open arms, they trusted me,” appreciates the person concerned, followed by a trio of coaches, Steven Deyrs, Tony Pouliquen and Pablo Le Corre.

From the start, she trained with the valid . “That was my goal. I wanted no difference from the others. I struggled and had a hard time. I pushed my limits. » But she found her feelings again, her confidence. The results followed, including a silver medal in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay and bronze in the 50m freestyle at the world championship in August 2023. Last December in Saint-Nazaire, she even offered herself five French records and his first World record in the 100m backstroke (1’06’96).

“Everything came together,” she rewinds, with a big smile. Thriving. The sportswoman, a student at a psychomotor school, found her balance in Brest.

The Swimmers’ Circle has evolved since its arrival. A disabled sports sectionwas created. “Disabled swimmers today among young people. This is progress. » One more victory.

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