Charlotte Fairbank

Started: She took up the sport in 2014. (ohmymag.com, 17 Aug 2020) Reason: She practised swimming, athletics, and equestrian sports before her accident. She took up wheelchair tennis about seven years after her accident. "I liked tennis and I often went to Roland Garros to watch the matches but I only played a little bit. I was not passionate. I was invited to try [wheelchair tennis] two or three years after my accident, but I refused. But in 2014/15 I wanted to start practising a wheelchair sport and I said, 'Why not tennis?' I started taking some courses and I immediately liked it. The coach offered me the chance to join the national team and to play professionally, and I accepted it right away." (start.lesechos.fr, 23 Jul 2021; ohmymag.com, 17 Aug 2020; fondationbanquepopulaire.fr, 01 Jan 2018) Ambition: To win a medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (start.lesechos.fr, 23 Jul 2021) Additional Info: REPRESENTING FRANCE She is a dual citizen of France and Great Britain. She decided to represent France in wheelchair tennis, with the goal of competing at home at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. "I decided to go to Argentina, after two years of working in law in Bristol [in England] because I wanted to learn Spanish. In Buenos Aires, at the end of 2016, I had begun accepting my impairment and I had started playing wheelchair tennis. I told my parents that I wanted to quit the law profession and launch my sporting career. I stayed in Buenos Aires for one year instead of the original four or five months and then I returned to France. In the end I chose [to compete for] France because of the Games in Paris in 2024. There is nothing more amazing than competing at the Games at home. I joined the French national team just a year and a half later." (20minutes.fr, 09 Mar 2023) BOOK In 2024 she published a children's book titled 'Inseparables'. "It's a passion project which attempts to raise awareness of and normalise impairment. The book tells my story, my experiences after my accident, and how sport was a turning point in my relationship with myself. By sharing my story, I hope to start up conversations between parents and children and in schools to erase the taboo of impairment." (Instagram profile, 22 Mar 2024) FURTHER EDUCATION She has taken a legal practice course at the University of Law in England. (LinkedIn profile, 05 Dec 2023; 20minutes.fr, 09 Mar 2023)