Arnaud Assoumani

Started: He took up athletics at age 11 in Angers, France. He had been swimming since he was age two, and as he grew older he also played football, basketball, and table tennis. (france-paralympique.fr, 04 Sep 2016; insep.fr, 15 Apr 2016; arnaudassoumani.blogspot.com, 02 Oct 2008) Reason: At a young age he was impressed by US long jumpers Mike Powell and Carl Lewis competing at the 1991 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. He particularly enjoyed watching the athletes 'pedal' through the air during their long jump, and dreamed he could do the same. "I told my father that when I was older, I would go to the Olympic Games." (France 24 YouTube channel, 05 Apr 2023; arnaudassoumani.blogspot.com, 02 Oct 2008) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (sportbuzzbusiness.fr, 22 Jul 2020) Milestones: His bronze medal in the T47 long jump at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro made him the first French Para athlete to have won four medals in long jump at the Paralympic Games. His silver medal in the T46 triple jump at the 2012 Games in London was also France's first Paralympic medal in triple jump. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Mar 2021) He was the first French Para athlete to win a medal at the French national non-Para athletics championships. He won a bronze medal in long jump at the 2010 French indoor championships. (a-speakers.fr, 28 Jan 2019; insep.fr, 15 Apr 2016) Awards: In 2008 he received the French Legion of Honour after his performances at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. (insep.fr, 15 Apr 2016) Additional Info: MUSIC MAN He enjoys making and performing music under the name Jariath, and studied music production at the Dubspot Music Academy in New York, NY, United States of America. While living in Brazil for four months between 2017 and 2018, he studied at Salgueiro Samba School in Rio de Janeiro, and took part in the 2018 Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. "I've been doing Brazilian music since 2007 - batucada, samba. My dream was to parade at the carnival in Rio, and I was able to realise this dream in 2018. I stayed for four months in Rio, I learned Portuguese, I trained with Salgueiro, then I played and paraded with the school in the Sambodrome in front of 90,000 spectators. It was amazing. I also create music on my own. I write, compose, produce and sing. I released an EP in 2017 under the name Jariath." (sportbuzzbusiness.fr, 22 Jul 2020; le10sport.com, 04 Sep 2019; LinkedIn profile, 01 Jun 2017; leparisien.fr, 17 May 2017) RETIREMENT THOUGHTS He has begun to think about life after sport, saying he wants to pursue a career as an entrepreneur while also staying involved in Para sport. "I see myself continuing in entrepreneurship, supporting companies. Well-being in business, diversity, the environment, to show that we can be more efficient by bringing in more ethics. Bringing philanthropy and altruistic ambition to companies and society is what I already do in the form of speeches, seminars and workshops. I want to continue to invest in projects that make sense to me. I also have a podcast and YouTube channel project, inviting inspiring people who innovate and seek to provide solutions in their respective fields to comment on the complex problems of our time. I will also always keep a foot in the world of sport. I want to share my experience." (sportbuzzbusiness.fr, 22 Jul 2020) OTHER ACTIVITIES He was part of the panel of the Paris 2024 Impact and Legacy Endowment Fund for the 2024 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. From 2012 to 2016 he was a member of the International Paralympic Committee [IPC] Athletes' Council. (ouest-france.fr, 24 Dec 2023; caf.fr, 06 Oct 2023) ORIGIN His father was born in Comoros and relocated to continental France after finishing high school. (France 24 YouTube channel, 05 Apr 2023)

Sporting Relatives: His father was a basketball player and a football goalkeeper. His mother played volleyball at regional level. (arnaudassoumani.blogspot.com, 02 Oct 2008)