The sportsman licensed at the Guyenne HandiNages club in Villenave-d’Ornon near Bordeaux lost a leg and an arm during a shark attack five years ago. Since then, he has shone in the European and World Para-swimming Championships. This Monday morning, he qualified for the final in the 50m butterfly.
50 m butterfly this Monday, 100 m crawl Wednesday September 1 and 100 m backstroke Friday, a dream program at the Paralympic Olympics in Tokyo for Laurent Chardard.
The athlete celebrates his 25th birthday this August 30 and finishes 4th, at the foot of the podium of the 50m butterfly final with a time of 32 “29 to 1” 48 of the Chinese Olympic champion.
????️ “I’m happy with my race”
???????? Laurent Chardard is satisfied with his 4th place in the 50m butterfly and hopes to do better for the next races.
Follow the events live ► https://t.co/t936kXODVH pic.twitter.com/OhTOEQebgW
– francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 30, 2021
He had finished fifth in the heats a few hours earlier in 32”76.
???????????? It’s okay for Laurent Chardard!
In the 50m butterfly S6, the French swimmer finished 5th in the heats. Its final will take place at 10:51 a.m. #Paralympics
Follow the Para swimming events live ▶ https://t.co/L9T5JiB2xG pic.twitter.com/Pt70j23pw0
– francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 30, 2021
“The race went well, the clock is not so good. But it’s the series“he confides just after qualifying.
“I’ll give it my all. Obviously, there is pressure for my first Games, but it made me want to hit the wall faster. In a hurry to be in the final, that’s where it will attack“.
Vice-world champion and European champion
The young mechanical and energy engineer graduated from the University of Bordeaux started the competition in 2017, just one year after his accident reported, at the time, by our colleagues from Réunion 1ere.
Fundraising for Laurent Chardard. A year ago the bodyboarder saved a life https://t.co/AHMAAZ7Bdf
– Enna1 (@ Enna112) August 30, 2021
In 2019, he won the title of vice-world champion in the 50m butterfly and then became European champion in the 100m backstroke last spring.
“Despite my accident, I never considered myself to be a “disabled” athlete. For me, the important thing is to give everything, no matter the number of legs or arms“he writes on his facebook page.
Laurent Chardard indeed accomplishes exploits with the right leg and the right arm less.
“He is able to do a lot of training to achieve perfection“testifies his trainer Tugdual Gueguin, at the club Guyenne HandiNages of Villenave-d’Ornon in the agglomeration of Bordeaux.
In the water, no prosthesis to move forward. The young athlete trains 15 hours a week. Four are devoted to bodybuilding “to keep a very upright posture in the water“he explains in this report produced by our colleagues from All Sport.
VIDEO. Paralympic Games: Laurent Chardard, the incredible fate of a bodyboarder attacked by a shark https://t.co/zN9v4QonWU via @franceinfo
– Enna1 (@ Enna112) August 30, 2021
In Tokyo he is officially not aiming for a medal but intends to beat his personal bests.
His journey is beautifully told in “An athlete’s life in manga: Laurent Chardard, the swimmer with a broad smile“which his friends on the national para-swimming team affectionately call” baby shark. “
Paralympic Games – An athlete’s life in manga: Laurent Chardard, the swimmer with a broad smile https://t.co/InzEB3G2IT via @franceinfo
– Enna1 (@ Enna112) August 30, 2021
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