Impairment Information |
Type of Impairment |
Impaired muscle power |
Origin of Impairment |
Acquired |
Classification |
SB-LL1 |
Further Personal Information |
Family |
Husband Frederic, daughter Victoire-Eleonore [2007] |
Occupation |
Athlete, Author, Motivational Speaker |
Languages |
Catalan, French |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
She began snowboarding as a girl, and first tried Para snowboard in December 2013. |
Why this sport? |
"In the mid-1990s I was doing BMX, but the discipline was gradually being abandoned in favour of mountain biking, so I started looking for a sport that would give me the same sensations as BMX. Gliding, speed, trajectories and jumps. As I lived in a mountainous region, snowboarding came to me and I immediately loved it." |
Club / Team |
Douane [FRA] / Les Angles [FRA]: |
Name of coach |
Anthony Baptiste [personal] |
Training Regime |
During the European winter she trains on the slopes in Les Angles, France. In the off-season she does strength work at the National Centre of Resources, Expertise and Sports Performance [CREPS] in Font Romeu, France. |
Senior International Debut |
Year |
2013 |
Competing for |
France |
General Interest |
Nicknames |
Cash (Facebook page, 25 Jan 2019) |
Hobbies |
Writing. (lindependant.fr, 23 Jun 2018) |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning a silver medal at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. (dicodusport.fr, 01 Oct 2017) |
Injuries |
She suffered a shoulder injury in the early part of 2018. (dicodusport.fr, 01 Mar 2018)
She sustained an injury to her left foot in 2017, which prevented her from training for five months. (Facebook page, 26 May 2017; sportdecouverteblog.wordpress.com, 28 Nov 2017; sans-filtre.fr, 20 Sep 2018)
In 2015 she was troubled by injuries and the effects of her multiple sclerosis. (paralympic.org, 10 Nov 2015) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"In life, anything can happen." (sans-filtre.fr, 20 Sep 2018) |
Awards and honours |
In June 2014 she was named a Knight of the National Order of Merit in France. (paralympic.org, 10 Nov 2015) |
Other sports |
She competed in BMX at international level prior to her diagnosis. (cecilehernandezcervellon.com, 16 Feb 2014) |
Ambitions |
To compete at the 2019 World Championships in Pyha, Finland. (lindependant.fr, 23 Jun 2018) |
Impairment |
She began experiencing medical issues in 2000 but doctors were unable to identify the problem. Then, two years later, she awoke one morning with paralysis in her legs, and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. (sans-filtre.fr, 20 Sep 2018; lequipe.fr, 15 Mar 2016) |
Other information |
FAST TRACK TO SOCHI
In December 2013 she was introduced to French Para snowboarder Patrice Barratero at an awards ceremony, which inspired her to try the sport for the first time. A few days later she received a phone call from the coach of the French national team, who said he would like to test her. She hit the slopes over the Christmas period, with mixed results, and was then informed in January 2014 that the test would be at a World Cup event in Colorado, United States of America, which was taking place in the same month. She finished fourth in her event, despite only having three days training, and was told the national federation would try to enter her for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. Although she was not on the initial list of athletes that would be participating at the Games, the French federation requested special dispensation for her and she was named in the team on 11 February 2014. She went on to win a silver medal in snowboard cross in Sochi, just three months after taking up the sport. "I arrived in Sochi without putting pressure on me. I was coming out of nowhere, I had not trained much. I arrived with all the lightness and all the motivation of the beginner. I did not know anything about the system and I was there just to have fun." (sans-filtre.fr, 20 Sep 2018)
TRAVELLING COMPANIONS
She has won a total of three medals at the Paralympic Winter Games - a silver in Sochi in 2014 and a bronze and a silver in Pyeongchang in 2018. She often carries them with her when she travels. "I prefer them to live, so I take them with me almost everywhere. They symbolise my everyday fight. It's the culmination of all those black years with my illness, all those years of training and the embodiment of all I was able to achieve as a woman and as a mother." (sans-filtre.fr, 20 Sep 2018)
OTHER ACTIVITIES
She has worked as a commentator for the French radio station Europe 1, and as a journalist for French newspaper Le Figaro. (sans-filtre.fr, 20 Sep 2018; dicodusport.fr, 01 Oct 2017; douane.gouv.fr, 20 Jan 2017) |
World Championships - Para snowboard |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 2 |
2014/2015 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
|
| 1 |
2014/2015 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
1:39.76 |
| 2 |
2016/2017 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
|
| 2 |
2016/2017 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
1:18.94 |
Paralympic Games - Para snowboard |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 2 |
2014 |
Snowboardcross - Standing |
2:07.31 |
| 3 |
2018 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
|
| 2 |
2018 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
56.53 |
World Cup Finals - Para snowboard |
| Rank |
Year |
Event |
Result |
| 1 |
2015/2016 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
|
| 1 |
2015/2016 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
|
| 1 |
2015/2016 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
1:11.86 |
| 1 |
2016/2017 |
Snowboard Cross - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
|
| 2 |
2016/2017 |
Banked Slalom - Lower Limb 1 Impaired |
|
