Gregoire Berthon

Started: He had already been involved in non-Para triathlon at elite level as well as cross-country and mountain bike racing prior to the skiing accident that resulted in his impairment in 2022. He returned to triathlon as a Para athlete in 2023. (Facebook profile, 28 Apr 2024; Ville de Divonne Facebook page, 01 Mar 2024; berthiesportshop.com, 01 Jan 2019; ledauphine.com, 25 Sep 2017) Reason: "When I was younger I did triathlon practically all the time alongside my studies. Afterwards I followed my partner to live in the Gex area of France where I opened a sport store, which was a triathlon store, and in the winters I would ski and in the summers I would race. In March 2022 I had a bad skiing accident which resulted in me being in a coma for one month and in hospital for seven months. Naturally I returned to sport through triathlon. I can no longer run in the mountains but running on the road is okay. Same for cycling, it's difficult to do mountain biking but I can ride on a smooth road. Swimming is a sport I learnt from a young age and is not too hard. I just naturally and quite easily transitioned into the sport of Para triathlon." (Ville de Divonne Facebook page, 01 Mar 2024) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Ville de Divonne Facebook page, 01 Mar 2024) Additional Info: SPORT CLOTHING STORE In 2015 he began managing a triathlon clothing store called Berthies Sport in a commercial shopping centre in Segny, France, near the French-Swiss border. In early 2024 he listed his store for sale, saying he no longer had time to take care of managing the shop alongside competing and training at elite level. "I have put my store up for sale as I have arrived at the end of my lease and I don't have time to do both." (Berthies Sport Facebook page, 31 Jan 2024)