David Smetanine

Started: He began swimming competitively in 1992, and took up Para swimming in 1996. (Athlete, 20 Mar 2019; Athlete, 01 Sep 2024) Reason: He was first involved in judo, a sport he practised for 10 years. He became attracted to swimming after watching the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. "[Russian swimmer] Aleksandr Popov and [US swimmer] Matt Biondi showed so much strength, it was unbelievable." After his accident he swam as part of his rehabilitation. He first considered competing in Para swimming after his employer, the mayor of Grenoble, invited him to a function welcoming back the French team from the 1996 Paralympic Games. (Instagram profile, 14 Nov 2020; ipc-swimming.org, 06 Apr 2011) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris and then retire from elite swimming. (Athlete, 05 Sep 2021; Athlete, 01 Sep 2024) Awards: He and Agathe Pauli were flag bearers for France at the opening ceremony of the 2024 European Championships in Madeira, Portugal. (Instagram profile, 21 Apr 2024) He received the 2018 Grand Prix Award from the Fair Play International Committee in Budapest, Hungary. (hu.ambafrance.org, 13 Sep 2019) He was named a Knight of the French Legion of Honour in recognition of his performances at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. (legifrance.gouv.fr, 14 Nov 2008) Additional Info: OTHER ACTIVITIES In December 2017 he was elected to serve as a member of the World Para Swimming Athletes' Advisory Group [AAG] from 2018 to 2021. In 2018 the region of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes in France selected him as ambassador for its Sport & Disability programme. In 2016 he was named a member of the Athletes' Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee. He has served in similar roles at the French National Olympic and Sports Committee and the French Anti-Doping Agency. (apf-francehandicap.org, 25 Oct 2021; Facebook profile, 25 Feb 2020; LinkedIn profile, 18 Mar 2019; placegrenet.fr, 04 Sep 2018; paralympic.org, 08 Dec 2017; wechamp-entreprise.co, 2020) ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES He uses his platform as an elite athlete to highlight issues related to the environment. "When I was a young boy I wanted to be an oceanographer just like [French sea explorer] Jacques Cousteau in order to understand the oceans and learn how to protect them. I am an ambassador of the UNICEF project named 'La nuit de l'eau' [The night of the water]. As a high performance athlete I think I have a responsibility to transmit a message to the people. Being an ecologist is, above all, a matter of education." (Instagram profile, 14 Nov 2020)