Sophie Caverzan

Started: She took up the sport in 2020. (fftda.org, 28 Aug 2023) Reason: She played football and basketball before discovering Para taekwondo. "I saw an ad on Facebook. It was weird because just a month before I had talked to my friends about my dream to compete at the Olympic Games one day. It said, 'Become the Para athlete of tomorrow' and it was like a signal to me. I signed up without hesitating, I thought it would be awesome to try." (france-paralympique.fr, 06 Apr 2023) Ambition: To compete at the Paralympic Games. (fftda.org, 28 Aug 2023) Additional Info: EARLY DAYS After responding to an advertisement on social media to recruit Para athletes, she met with the French Paralympic and Sports Committee [CPSF], but did not initially discuss taekwondo. "Three people from CPSF were present at the interview and we spoke about my involvement in sports as well as Para sports that might interest me, like badminton or sitting volleyball. But at the time, we didn't speak at all about taekwondo. It was only after the interview that a coach from the French Para taekwondo team contacted me and proposed that I try it out at a club in Toulouse. After my try-out, the coach invited me to participate in a camp at INSEP [in Paris]. Little by little, I became hooked. I stopped playing football to focus on this beautiful sport." She said finding training partners was difficult initially. "What's hard in France is we are only a few female para-taekwondo athletes and none of us are in the same weight category, so there isn't any local competition." (france-paralympique.fr, 06 Apr 2023)