News

Emilie Chéné explains her challenge through this excerpt of her thank you letter :

Hi all,
The decision has been made, I won’t be part of the Rio French paraolympic team next September because I haven't been be able to be classified int the best 22 mondial players.
Seemingly, the objective is not reached but, actually, the objective was elsewhere. I learnt it during my adventure. Better than the goal, it’s the way you go through to reach it that matters.
This athletic pathway enables me to meet wonderful people who accompanied me, according to their means, envies and will. Thanks to you, this adventure was fascinating, living, wealthy.
I’d like to thank everybody with this short note even it seems ludicrous to express all my feelings with this few words,, my gratitude, my enthusiasm.
Short but precise and concise, straight to the point, so thank you all!
Now, I’m able to look ahead with many projects in mind. Surely, this human experience is gona stick with me and be part of my future life whatever I’ll try . Undoubtedly a matchless wealth!
I hope you are all in great shape. I wish you can surpass yourself with personal and professional challenges and become even greater whaterver the outcomes. To quote Winston Churchill: The success is to be able to go from failure to failure without loosing his enthusiasm.
Thanks, many thanks to all.
Emilie

A world first.

Frédéric Sausset, 47, a quadruple amputee, has a dream which is about to become reality : driving a car in the Le Mans 24 Hours race.

Frédéric has been preparing tirelessly for this event for several years. The ACO, which organises the 24 Hours race, will allow this out-of-the-ordinary sportsman to participate in the 2016 edition of this famous race, the greatest endurance event in the world.

At the wheel of a Morgan with a Nissan engine, n°56 in the Oak Racing Team, Frédéric and his team-mates will take part in the LMP2 category, reaching speeds of up to 200 mph.

Take a look at the report made by the 7 à 8 news magazine on May 1st of this year :

7 à 8, a weekly news magazine on the TFI TV channel.

En savoir plus :

Yoann and Yannick have entered the Figaro Solo Race, to go by kayak from the port of Deauville-Trouville in Normandy to Portsmouth on the south-west coast of England (a distance of 115 miles).

Yannick Gerny is blind, but this doesn’t stop him from taking part in extreme challenges. Accompanied by his friend Yoann Deschemaeker, the owner of Concept Sport Emotion (a company which offers kayaking activities at the beach of Trouville-sur-Mer), he is ready to cross the Channel at its greatest width in a two-place kayak. The crossing is expected to take a total of 30 hours, at an average speed of 3.8 mph, all day and all night.

The crossing is expected to take place in June, between the 11th and the 16th.

Another record ?
We wish them every success !

More than 100 blind or visually impaired people have had the chance to get behind the wheel at the Sandown Racetrack, in Melbourne's south-east.
Jason Nakhla, who was born legally blind, drives at more than 100 kilometres an hour around the racetrack.
He takes the turns like a pro, easing off the accelerator and then flooring it as he reaches the straight.

"My vision is six over sixty, so it's about one-tenth of what a regular person sees," he said.
"I can kind of see, but I can't see things like the instrument dash, the writing."
Mr Nakhla is a big car enthusiast, and relishes the chance to drive.
"I love it. Words can't explain it," he said.
The event, called In The Driver's Seat, is an initiative of the Warrandyte Lions Club, which has run the program for 20 years.
Those with a penchant for motorcycles have a chance to do a lap, although only as passengers.
The Ulysses motorcycle club members help out, while qualified driving instructors donate their time and the use of their cars.
Wayne Stagg has been volunteering for years.
From the passenger seat he warns Mr Nakhla of a sharp turn a few hundred metres ahead.
"My little Yaris doesn't work this hard when I do lessons downtown in Bairnsdale," he said.
"It's a bit of an adrenaline rush when you look down the main straight at Sandown.
"The guys that do this are just adrenaline junkies, and they're so appreciative. We do love it."
Bill Gerritsen, the chairman of the program, said the event started thanks to Warrandyte Lions Club member, Peter Watts, who went blind.
"He found out that this is one of the things blind people miss, driving a motorcar," Mr Gerritsen said.
"Since that time we've had old truck drivers, taxi drivers, all sorts of people.
"It's an emotional day, it's a beautiful day."
It costs the Lions Club about $5,000 to host the event, and Mr Gerritsen said it was money well spent.
"It's all very, very positive and it's not just from the VIPs, but from the volunteers too.
"They get an emotional kick out of it and absolutely love it."

BY STEPHANIE ANDERSON
ABC News

video: TF1
http://lci.tf1.fr/monde/amerique/aveugles-ils-prennent-le-volant-le-temps-d-un-stage-de-conduite-8727965.html

Driver and blind, Dominique Douxfils shared his experience with us…

On Wednesday 2nd March 2016, we went to the paddocks of one of the greatest F1 circuits in the world.

Along with my friends of the « Les non-voyants et leurs drôles de machines » (Blind people and their funny machines) association, we immediately took the wheel to discover the track, under the kind supervision of our driving instructors. One by one, we could drive the VW Polo, and then embark on a adventure with Yannick and his Renault Mégane RS (265 horsepower). I would never have imagined that one day in my life someone would tell me : « Put more gas ! » !

Nicole and all her pupils from La Reid school also paid a visit to us. They were all extremely happy to see me achieving my dream… It is indeed thanks to the chilren and their teacher that I am able to drive again. Everyone was moved beyond words. When they started to sing « On écrit sur les murs » (We write on the walls ), no one could hold back their tears.

After an appreciated lunch break away from the cold, we had the pleasant surprise to experience some laps as passengers in the BMW (325 horsepower) of famous rallye driver Grégoire de Mévius.

Then, we took the wheel again, going faster and faster, but always safely and wisely. Wisely ? I reached 130 km/h…But well, let’s stay modest… Feeling the speed was awesome, but it is nothing compared to the driving lesson given by José in his space rocket, a Mégane RS.

At the end of this wonderful day, we all went back home, with sparkles in the eyes, incredibly happy and, above all, ready to start again !

Our next Belgian driving adventure will take us to the circuit of Mettet !

https://youtu.be/gQ3MM9JDqeg

In front of 250 (two hundred and fifty) people gathered at the Two Rives Theater in Charenton on the “Night of Sports in Val de Marne” organized by the Comité départemental olympique et sportif du Val de Marne, Anthony and Samy took up a major challenge.
They tried to break the precision world record of blowpipe.
The objective was to hit the most important number of targets within 3 minutes (10 targets hit minimum). To hit a target, the thrower must throw the blowpipe’s dart in the yellow central part of
the target. Samy first threw its blowpipe’s dart, and hit one by one the ten first targets with a stress-free gesture. He managed to hit 11 targets into 3 minutes and broke the world record.
Then it was Antony’s turn , quite anxious to try after Samy’s success. Stressed by the challenge, hechit 2 targets but leaved the stage amid loud applause of the public. This event will remain a day to remember for both boys.

Departure ont the 26th of december via Sao Paulo and Santiago de chili. I met Diego, my personal guide and taught him the basic rules to guide a blind. We gathered with our group, 2 others guides, Marianno and Gaston and 5 climbers, Fabian from Buenos-aires, Tilak from Orlando, Maude from Montréal, marc from Stuttgart and Claudia from Frankfurt. After 2 days in Confluencia for acclimatization, we climbed up to Plazza de mulas, our base camp, 4300m. Settled on a glacier made with a mix of rocks, earth and ice, 300 people work during the climbing season, porters, mulators, cooks, doctors and rescue patrols. We saw twice the doctor to measure the blood pressure and ocygen saturation. Mules never go higher than the baes camp. We’ll have to carry our own gear for the higher camps, porters carrying tents and stoves.
Unfortunately, the weather turns bad, cold snow and wind replacing the sun.
We make 2 acclimatization walks up to 5000m before reaching the Canada camp in the blizzard, after 6 days at the base camp. At this elevation, the meals are sealed in vacuum-packed bags, heated in boiling water. We drink a lot of hot tea as it’s recommended to drink at least 3 to 4 liters every day to avoid some altitude sickness, headache and nausea.
We stay 2 days in Canada camp, blocked by the snow storm. The first side-effects of high altitude make me a stuffy nose, awaking me in the middle of the night in hypoxia. This trouble will stick to me and, step buy step, make me exhausted due to the lack of sleep.
Eventually, the weather clears up and we climb to nido de conderes camp, 5600m.Such a pleasant walk under the sun and in 20cm of fresh snow!Back to sun glasses and sun cream!The night is still, without a cloud and very cold. My pee bottle freezes inside the tent.
The weather forcast shos the day after tomorrow is possible to make an attempt to the summit. We decide to climb up straight to camp 3, Cholera camp, 6000m.Wind id strong and should soften tomorrow.
Alarm clock is set up on 3:30 am. After a short breakfast and hot tea, we prepare ourselves for the last ascent: 3 layers of pants and gloves, 4 layers on the body, double plastic shoes… we look like astronauts than hikers!
The ascent starts à 5:30 with 14°F and the winds blow around 50-60km/h.
We walk slowly but continuously, breathing hard. After 4 hours, not so far from the place called Independencia (6400m), we sit due to harsch ust of wind. Maude fell down twice. Me, maude and Marc decide to go down, exhausted. None of the 3 had slept the night before. Claudia and Tilak reach the summit after 9 hours of walk. That day, 4 climbers on a total of 32 succeeded in their attempts. We had the luck to be able to make this attempt, no windows having been available the previous week.
Back to Mendoza, our group enjoy a wonderful meal with argentinian grilled steak and red wine malbec!

Marie Amelie Le Fure has just accepted the co- presidency for the Paris town candidate process for the 2024 Olympic and Para-Olympic games.

This athlete amputee below the left knee with multiple medals will co-preside the file with Teddy Riner, an Olympic and world champion.

A very nice recognition for the para-Olympic athletes.

Let us hope that Paris will be the Capital of the Handicapped and Non Handicapped Sport

In football today, winning five championship titles is no big deal – but winning them thanks to a blind coach certainly is. This amazing story takes place in Brazil.

Flavio Aurelio Silva founded the Juventude club (not to be confused with the winners of the Brazilian National Cup), a small local football club in the underprivileged district of Fortaleza, in 1985. Flavio played with the club as a defensive midfielder for four years, until he lost the sight in one of his eyes at the age of 20, following a rather brutal scuffle. One year later, he lost his other eye, an event which obliged him to trade in his football boots for a white stick.

Quote
He can see football better than any other coach
Deone Lopes, striker for the Juventude club
End of quote

Instead of moping over his fate, Flavio took the initiative and continued to help his club, first as treasurer and then as coach.

I’m proud to be the founder, a player, and now the big boss of this club, even though I’m blind (Flavio Aurelio Silva).

At 46, the man who his players call « Little Blind Man » has carried off a string of victories, using his hearing rather than his eyesight to follow the game. During a match, he will stand on the sidelines with his team, and listen to the movements of the ball and of the players. He also takes into account the remarks made by his players and by the spectators.

https://www.pkfoot.com/50314/championnats/autres-championnats/flavio-aurelio-silva

All members of the Ehandicap World Records team wish you a very happy new year – full of challenges and records.
Have a pleasant visit of our Web Site.
“Sportingly yours!”