Despite months of preparation, Erika Sauzeau will not go to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Already a bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2021 Paralympics, she was part of the crew that qualified the mixed coxed 4 rowing for Paris 2024 but is ultimately not selected. The rower had caught in the spring a serious viral infection that turned into pneumonia and which wasted valuable time.
“It’s a big disappointment and that’s hard. This is the hardest and most difficult year of my career.she says. It was huge, with an injury at the start of the season in November, due to overtraining, which made the condition worse. Plus the virus contracted in April. It was a disaster. It’s true that I went through a bit of a dark period when I was deprived of the World Cup, that is to say, of the hope of defending my place. So I had to rebuild myself, find other goals to bounce back. Because, well, it’s the games, but it’s still just the games. At some point, you also have to tell yourself that it doesn’t take away everything I’ve done before, the medals, the world records, the medal at the Tokyo Games… I don’t plan on ending my career now, I’d like to go until 2028, but you have to find other short-term goals..”
First objective: run the 10 km of Paris 2024, not in a wheelchair, but with your orthosis. Erika Sauzeau can still be selected to replace a sick or injured starter.
