Paul Raft

Paul Raft will carry the Olympic Torch. This is his story:

Paul is a senior high school pupil very invested in sport, which embodies values that he holds dear. He has been playing handball since the age of 6 years old and has also distinguished himself at a high level in skiing, running and rowing. He is heavily involved in his senior high school’s sports association and has contributed to organising a variety of events, such as a 57-km race in homage to French parasports athlete Théo Curin, as well as the regional downhill skiing championships.

His greatest source of pride is that he and his sporting guide have been selected to join the group of ambassadors for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, organised by the Grand Est region. He takes an active part in all the meetups and works regularly with his teacher and his sporting guide to develop projects focusing on sustainable development and sport. Paul is a profoundly deaf teenager who lost his hearing as a result of a medical error a few days after he was born. Despite this disability, he has always been able to move forward and demonstrate that his difference can be a strength. He was given the opportunity to join the French Deaf Handball team in May 2023 and the French ski team for the sensory impaired, with whom he recently came 2nd in the French downhill skiing championships.