Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: Montpellier’s Arnaud Assoumani in search of a 6th medal in long jump

Diminué à Tokyo, Assoumani rêve d’un nouveau podium à Paris en saut en longueur. MAXPPP – John Walton

Having come to relaunch himself in Montpellier, the Paralympic star of French athletics dreams of a podium but above all of an electroshock to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities in France.

“We lack nothing, except you.” The slogan of this advertising spot, encouraging the public to come and follow the Paralympic Games in mass, you heard it on repeat during the Paris Olympics. Arnaud Assoumani was one of the three athletes chosen to embody it and carry it with his only good arm.

Proof of the iconic status that the Parisian, adopted by Montpellier, has achieved since the Tokyo Games. This Tuesday, September 3, in the overheated Stade de France, Assoumani will simply try to win a 6th medal in the long jump (T47 category) in as many Paralympic participations after the gold in Beijing 2008 (long jump), the silver in London 2012 (long jump and triple jump), the bronze in Athens 2004 and Rio 2016 (long jump).

“The podium will be decided at more than 7.30 m”

At almost 39 years old – he will have them on Wednesday – the iconic French athlete knows that the frontiers of the feat are becoming increasingly difficult to cross, especially against a generation of young jumpers from elsewhere like the Cuban Robiel Yankiel Sol Cervantes, reigning world and Paralympic champion at only 21 years old.

"I feel good, assured Arnaud a few days ago. During the French championships in Albi in July, I achieved my best performance of the year (7.07 m). It's still better than what I've done in recent years, but, above all, I can still improve because the podium should be decided at more than 7.30m."

"Being a voice for disability"

Will the public carry him beyond this Eldorado ? It would be a fair return for someone who came to rebuild himself in Montpellier after a serious injury, a complete rupture of the tendon on his take-off leg, just before the Tokyo Games. When we met him hard at work on May 1, Assoumani was defying the pouring rain on the track at the Philippidès Stadium.

He told us about the privilege of being followed by a fleet of sponsors and thus being able to “create around me a structure of ten people to leave nothing to chance, from mental preparation to performance tests".

Read also: Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: Arnaud Assoumani, the athlete who will carry the flame in Cannes, has "rebuilt himself" in Montpellier

Above all, the neo-Montpellier native, who carried the Olympic flame on the steps of the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, wants to be a strong voice to “contribute to changing society and the way people look at people with disabilities, do even more on accessibility in transport, accommodation, education, work…" Beyond the result, make these Paris Paralympic Games a great leap forward.

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