The National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of France has announced Jean-Marie Frichet as their Chef de Mission for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

Frichet has participated at several Paralympic Games as an alpine skiing guide and director. He participated in his first Games at Innsbruck 1988 as a guide to Stephane Saas; together they secured two silver medals.

Frichet said he believes his role as Chef de Mission is to “create team spirit, cohesiveness between the staff and the athletes from the different disciplines with the aim of building one French Paralympic team.

“The role is also to lead the athletes of the team to give their best performances on the international level and to make sure that they will be in the best conditions to obtain success.”

“The role is also to lead the athletes of the team to give their best performances on the international level and to make sure that they will be in the best conditions to obtain success. To achieve this, the Chef de Mission works closely with NPC France to understand as much as possible the needs of the athletes and staff.”

He added: “The objective is also to do everything we can to make the Games the most successful possible as they will be the culmination of four years of preparation on behalf of the athletes and the staff. Moreover, I really want to highlight the work of the volunteers and the Para sport clubs because we must not forget that without their passion and investment, the sport for disabled people would not be as well known.”

Frichet recently returned from a Chef de Mission meeting in PyeongChang, South Korea, in late February and reported:

“The Organising Committee gave us useful information and answered questions asked by the representatives of 35 different countries. I am convinced that the POCOG [PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee] will have everything organised from the point of view of logistics to facilitate the set-up of the team in the village. We visited different Paralympic venues which are already operational even if some technical building and access roads have to be completed.

“The Test Event [is a] really good opportunity for the athletes and staff to familiarise themselves with the venues. … The accommodation is still a challenge. The number of beds are lower than the number of people expected, especially close to the alpine venue. At the Paralympic Village, the work isn’t finished yet, but it’s well underway. Everything will be ready on time to welcome the world.

“[POCOG] is putting everything in place to welcome in the best conditions the 50 countries expected and I am convinced that the Paralympics will be a fantastic celebration and that the athletes will inspire the world.”