Paris 2024 Paralympics | They will give us chills: Stéphane Houdet

3 min|
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Picture by Naomi Baker/Getty Images

He is probably the best-known Para athlete in France. Having already won three Paralympic titles in doubles and a silver medal in singles, this champion is one of the leading lights of the French delegation. Introducing.

His record speaks for itself: in 4 participations, from Beijing to Tokyo, he won 3 Paralympic gold medals, plus one silver and one bronze. You can add to that a multitude of victories in Grand Slam tournaments, whether singles or doubles, twenty-four in all... In fact, he's won everything, everywhere!

Stéphane Houdet was born in Saint Nazaire on 20 November 1970. A great sportsman, he started playing tennis at the age of 8, and achieved a ranking of 2/6 while continuing his studies as a veterinary surgeon in Nantes.

Picture by Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Number 1 in golf

In August 1996, he was involved in a serious motorbike accident in Austria that left him without the use of his left knee. No matter, he made the best of it, and although tennis was no longer an option for him, he took up golf.
And while he was completing his studies and officially became a doctor of veterinary medicine, the jack-of-all-trades quite simply became French and then European number 1 in disabled golf.

But it wasn't enough, it didn't suit him. His left leg became increasingly stiff, handicapping him more and more, and he finally decided to have it amputated at the end of 2004.

The following year, he discovered wheelchair tennis, fell in love with the sport and won his first tournament. He progressed so quickly that in less than 3 years he turned pro, winning his first gold medal in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, in partnership with Michaël Jérémiasz.

An innovative new chair

Stéphane is now well established at the top of the world rankings in his sport, regularly sitting in the world number one chair. He's going to stay there, year after year, building up one of the most impressive records in French sport, across all disciplines.

But he didn't stop there; the multi-medallist is constantly on the lookout for innovation and inventiveness. His new chair with two large inclined wheels is a jewel of technology and has enabled him to invent a new way of playing wheelchair tennis: 'on his knees', which gives him better reach and more power, all assets for a player who considers himself one of the slowest on the circuit.

A man who never forgets where he comes from: "When I woke up after 15 days in a coma, I couldn't put my spoon in my mouth, I was missing out... At that point, my aim was more to get that mouthful in than to hold a racket or hit a ball".

In Paris 2024, he will be happy if he enjoys himself and gives pleasure.