Badr Touzi

Started: He took up Para athletics in 2013/14, but had been involved in non-Para athletics since childhood. (Playerprod YouTube channel, 01 Dec 2023; Athlete, 20 Aug 2018; handisport.org, 29 Sep 2015) Reason: He participated in athletics before he was struck by a car and acquired his impairment in 2009. He was determined to remain involved in the sport. "I have done this [athletics] since I was little, it's in my heart. I love sport, I also loved swimming [so] I started with that, and I also did high jump. I weighed about 70 kilograms, but I had a back injury and the high jump was affecting that, especially the landings, so I stopped that, and when I took up throwing I had to put on about 30-40 kilograms." (podtail.com, 03 Mar 2024; Playerprod YouTube channel, 01 Dec 2023; vonews.fr, 24 Feb 2023; france-paralympique.fr, 01 Sep 2016; Athlete, 23 Oct 2015) Ambition: To win a medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris in front of a home crowd. (Instagram profile, 30 Jan 2024) Additional Info: RAPID RISE Within two years of taking up shot put he competed at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "Before my accident I had done athletics, mostly jumping disciplines, and then after my accident I first got into swimming. Then I started training to work for a boarding school at the Expertise and Sports Performance Resource Centre [CREPS] in Eaubonne where there was a group of throwing athletes training. I knew straight away that I could achieve something in this sport and get quickly up to an elite level. I started in 2013/14 and within two years I competed at the 2016 Paralympic Games." (Playerprod YouTube channel, 01 Dec 2023)