A project that was close to his heart. Deprived of the Paris Olympic Games due to a back injury, Rennes’ Victor Coroller was still able to taste the Paralympic Games. On Wednesday, September 4, the Rennes athletics champion, a specialist in the 400m hurdles, accompanied a CM1 class from the Oscar Leroux school in Paris to attend a para-athletics session at the Stade de France. The Breton students were able to appreciate the performances of Timothée Adolphe, in the heats of the 100m T11, a distance in which the Frenchman won a silver medal the following day.
“This project was born out of a partnership between the City of Rennes and high-level athletes, explains Victor Coroller. It matured in November 2023. The professor (Aurélie Churin) had tickets to go see the Paralympic Games, but she did not have the means to pay for the transport, the organization of the trip. I asked two of my partners (Abyss Ingredients and D & Consultants) if they would agree to finance the trip. They immediately agreed.
“There are athletes and competitions that need to be highlighted”
In addition to the para-athletics events, the young people of Brittany were able to visit the offices of one of Victor Coroller’s partners, and also admire, for the first time for some, the Eiffel Tower. “It was a pretty lively and varied day, so everyone was happy.”
The project both highlighted parasport and raised awareness among students about disabilities. “There are athletes and competitions that need to be highlighted. And it’s important to raise awareness of disability from a young age.”insists Victor Coroller.
The athlete also appreciated the highlighting of the Paralympic Games in this 2024 edition, hoping that it marks a turning point on the issue. “We saw the enthusiasm in the television audiences, and in the stadiums. Besides, I would have liked to go see the para-swimming or the blind football on the weekend, but there was no more room, reports the licensee of Haute Bretagne Athlétisme. I think these Games brought a different perspective on these extraordinary athletes, who are role models. It was great to see them highlighted, to see that the Olympic venues were saved for the Paralympics, that everything was organized in the same way for both competitions.”
