The Paralympic Games begin on August 28. Here’s what you need to know about Sami El Gueddari, the disabled athlete who will be a consultant at the Paris Olympics.
Sami El Gueddari was born on February 1, 1984 (he is 40 years old) and is from Orléans (Loiret). This year, in Paris, he will not be in the pool but he will be a consultant for the event. Who is he?
What disability does Sami El Gueddari suffer from?
Sami El Gueddari was born with right lower limb agenesis, a congenital malformation that means he was born without his right leg. From a young age, he was faced with the challenges of his disability, but this did not stop him from developing a passion for sports, and more specifically for swimming.
He started swimming at the age of 5, joining a local club where he quickly showed a natural talent for the sport. Despite his disability, Sami has always sought to push his limits. He gradually climbed the ranks of disabled sports in France, until joining the national Paralympic swimming team. “I didn’t choose swimming, swimming chose me,” he confided to the blog The Media Workshop.
However, he has always refused to let his disability define him. For him, it is above all another element of his identity and not a limitation. “I didn’t want people to think I wasn’t capable.”he confided again.
What is Sami El Gueddari’s track record?
Sami El Gueddari has built a solid track record in the world of Paralympic swimming. In 2005, he finished 3rd at the Mediterranean Games in Almeria, in the S9 handicap category in the 100m freestyle. In 2008, he was a finalist in the 50m freestyle at the Beijing Paralympic Games. It was at the French Summer Championships in Chambéry in 2009 that he shone and won the gold medal in the 50m and 100m freestyle.
In 2012, he participated in the London Paralympic Games but left without a medal. He often reached the finals of the freestyle events, competing against the best swimmers in his category. In 2013, he announced that he was ending his sporting career.
What is Sami El Gueddari’s current occupation?
After ending his sports career, the swimmer wanted to continue in the field. He became sports director of disabled swimming and responsible for the sports access pathway within the French Disabled Sports Federation. “In 2013, after my sports career, I joined the FFH with the aim of supporting disabled athletes in their academic and sports projects (…) Then, from 2017 to 2022, I became sports director of disabled swimming to lead the entire project of the federation in the swimming sector. My missions were to define and organize the circuits of departmental competitions, the classification methods, to manage the French teams”, he detailed to theOnisepAt the same time, he also became a consultant for France Télévisions.
Sami El Gueddari: what hopes for the 2024 Paralympics?
As the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games begin, he is thinking big for France. “Here we are going to pass another milestone. A turning point, which I hope will be significant, thanks to the ambition of the COJOP with Tony Estanguet, thanks to the ambition of France Télévisions (…) Everything is there. The performances, with athletes who are ready. France will be present in all disciplines. More than 200 athletes, we hope for more than 60 medals”, declares the athlete on France Télévisions.
And to promise: “The show will be there, the media will be there and I hope that thanks to that, tomorrow, our society will change. The place of people with disabilities will change and the place of sport for people with disabilities will change.”
Did Sami El Gueddari: participate in Dancing with the Stars?
In 2019, Sami El Gueddari created a surprise. Indeed, he decided to join the cast of the tenth season of DALS. He teams up with Fauve Hautot. Together, they win. “My disability wasn’t a hindrance. It was a booster of creativity. It was a way for her to – not to exceed her limits, because that’s all she does, but – to be creative differently. At no point did she say to herself: ‘We’re going to keep it simple, because you have a disability.’ I loved that.”he confided to Gala.
Who is Sami El Gueddari’s wife?
In 2016, while the swimmer was going to Rio as a consultant, he met Eve, a makeup artist on the set of France Télévisions. It didn’t take much for them to fall in love. “We got to talking and discovered that we had real affinities, the same way of seeing life. But the Games go by quickly, it’s 12 days and then it’s gone!”the athlete said in the columns of GalaTogether they have many plans, but they don’t want to put pressure on themselves. “Marriage, children, they will come like everything else in our life. Naturally.”declared his dear and tender.
