Axel Bourlon, a weightlifter, spoke to Figaro about his ambitions, his childhood and his disability. The 33-year-old Frenchman represents a real chance of a medal for the French delegation and will launch the competition this Wednesday.
“I will be ready on D-Day”. Axel Bourlon will be there this Wednesday for the debut of weightlifting in the La Villette arena. The 33-year-old Frenchman, silver medalist at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in the bench press, will be keen to do better in front of his home crowd. Even if he expects a fierce fight. “The goal is always to do better. I am aware that the competition is tough and that it has gone up a notch compared to the last Games. But there is a lot of excitement and ambition.”he confessed to the Figaro.
A true force of nature, the thirty-year-old discovered weightlifting when he wanted to… learn to swim. He tells us. “It came about by chance. I did weight training to get stronger so I could swim properly. I have a bigger and heavier head than a normal person. So I didn’t have enough back muscles to get out of the water and breathe.”explains the silver medalist in Tokyo. But a meeting with Martine Servajean – a former disabled athlete present at the Sydney and Athens Olympics – changed everything.
“I don’t consider myself disabled”
“Thanks to her and my club, I was able to join the swimming and weightlifting sections. And I really enjoyed the latter discipline. On the other hand, it’s still not that in swimming.”laughs the native of Roanne (Loire). At high speed, Axel Bourlon climbs the ladder, forces the roadblocks and sets the bar even higher. From his first competitions, he notably wins a title of vice-champion of France. Before shining at the international level.
PHILIP FONG / AFP
His passion for sport began very early, on the courts of « baby basket » before gently sliding into hip-hop for several years. Suffering from Achondroplasia since birth – caused by an abnormality in bone growth and resulting in dwarfism – the Roanne native has turned his illness into a strength. “Yes, I have a disability, but it doesn’t stop me from experiencing great things in sports or in everyday life. It doesn’t stop us. If I had been told when I was younger that I would become what I am today, I wouldn’t have believed it. I am also aware that I don’t have the most severe disability. I don’t consider myself disabled. I can do everything that everyone else does.”is keen to answer the one who holds a personal record of 173 kg as well as two French records (165 kg in the -54 kg and 165 kg in the -59 kg).
Sport saved my school life
Axel Bourlon
However, not everything was rosy for the French athlete. The weightlifter had to overcome life’s challenges and mockery. “I understand that it can be difficult for others to accept. Obviously, there were times that were a little harder, especially in primary or secondary school with a lot of teasing. But I learned from all that and I’m over it now.”replies this former telephone advisor. “Head in the air” when he was at school, he admits he didn’t have “was a good student”. “I had to go to class. But that’s it. I respected it and I didn’t act like an idiot (laughs)”. Here too, Axel Bourlon held on despite repeating his third year. “Sport saved my school life”the latter also recognizes.
At 33, Axel Bourlon wants to continue to dream big and make a big impact in the history of para-weightlifting. A medal would be a great accomplishment for French para-weightlifting, which is seriously lacking in resources and infrastructure. To win the Holy Grail, the Roanne athlete will be able to count on a strong Roanne delegation, who came especially to support him. These famous close friends and family, whom the weightlifter never ceases to thank.
