The ex-swimmer, winner of Dancing with the Stars, is now responsible for the performance division of the French Handisport Federation. And is part of the France Télévisions team at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, from March 4 to 13 on the air.
What is your place in the France Télévisions system for these Paralympic Games?
Sami El Gueddari: I will be as usual alongside Laurent Luyat to evoke the handicap in what it has of transversal, to give the desire to practice these disciplines, to also engage as a volunteer or as an accompanist with people with disabilities.
How do you prepare to comment on these events when it is not your specialty?
I have the chance to evolve in a multi-sport federation where winter and summer interact. I’m not a skier at all and don’t get involved in the technical aspect of things. My role is to seek to understand what drives the competitors and to decipher for the public the categories of disabilities that may seem complicated.
What are the chances of tricolor medals?
They are numerous, especially with Arthur Bauchet, Marie Bochet and Hyacinthe Deleplace in alpine skiing, Maxime Montaggioni in snowboarding, our standard bearer Benjamin Daviet and Anthony Chalencon in cross-country skiing, plus the newcomers who will have the task of confirming what they showed at the World Championships in Lillehammer.
In terms of the visibility of disabled sport, aren’t the Paralympic Games the tree that hides the forest?
I want to tell you that eight years ago, we didn’t even have the tree. Since then, we have at least this lighting. We would obviously like other major events to be broadcast, as they are in certain countries such as Italy. This is a very important issue because it normalizes the handicap. Many of the French athletes present in Beijing also told us that they were very inspired by what happened at the Paralympic Games in Sochi and PyeongChang.
In 2019, you won Dance with the stars. Besides the victory, what did you gain in this adventure?
It didn’t objectively change anything because I wasn’t doing it with that intention. It was simply an opportunity for me to contribute to the media coverage of disability. And beyond that, I met there Fauve Hautot who I’m still friends with today.
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