Following a motorcycling accident that led to a tibial amputation, Yoan Argiolas decided to start participating in obstacle course races, his way of rising to the challenge. Better known as the Spartan Race, this discipline which combines running, obstacle courses and a variety of challenges calls for agility, strength, endurance and intelligence. These qualities are far from foreign to this athlete whose talents stood out before the French Paralympic and Sports Committee in 2019 thanks to Relève, a program aimed at detecting sportspersons demonstrating potential in one or several paralympic sports, in view of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. This is when he started training for triathlons and turned to a local club who provided him with a trainer specialising in disabilities. Weekly training, in the peak season, can go right up to 25 hours.
Naval Group supports Yoan’s sporting activities, adapting his working hours and schedule to his races.
The results of his efforts are reflected in the medals he has won in both disciplines (list of awards in the boxed text): obstacle races (not a paralympic event) and triathlons. However, he does not qualify for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
“Last year, a friend of mine, a sportswoman who is also a school teacher told me that she’d just bought a Phryge, one of the mascots for the Olympic Games. Students from her class picked out the one with a prosthetic leg, the same as mine. She then asked me if I’d be willing to talk to the children about my disability and I immediately agreed!” After an initial talk to around 200 students at the nursery and primary school levels in Gonfaron, a second visit was organised at Jean Rostand de Draguignan, a secondary school. “My goal is to change the way disabilities are viewed,” underlines Yoan. “I’m disabled, I participate in extreme sports. I do this differently, with a prosthetic limb, but it is possible.” He begins his talks by presenting several videos which show him in the throes of effort and answers questions that are “full of curiosity but never ill-intentioned”. He then gives students the opportunity to join him in a practical experience with a friendly obstacle race. Yoan joins the children, competing in groups - absolutely nobody is left out and everybody wins! “At the end, we all pat each other on the back. I’d like them to get the fact that even though I run alone, there's a whole team backing me: my colleagues at work who give me time, my prosthetist, my sponsors, my trainer and my wife and daughter of course. I’m not alone! Competitions are the same, with a great deal of solidarity between athletes.” Striking messages that really leave a mark...the school teacher informed Yoan that several children had tattooed his name on their arm in pen after he had left.
