Ugo Didier, the rising star of disabled swimming
In Toulouse, Ugo Didier distinguished himself in the field of disabled swimming. Aged 21, he has already won several medals, including a silver at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. He is now preparing for those of Paris 2024.
Like several top athletes before him, Ugo Didier had his honor ceremony at the Toulouse City Hall this Wednesday, September 7, 2022. “It’s important to me. But beyond me, it is for Paralympic sport. It’s a recognition”, underlines the young swimmer from Toulouse.
Just 21 years old, Ugo Didier is the rising star of disabled swimming. He a win four silver medals at the last world championships last June. These are far from the first for the Paralympic athlete licensed in Circle of swimmers of Cugnauxwho also trains TOEC Dolphins In Toulouse.
Discovery of handisport late in life
Ugo Didier indeed obtained his first medal at the World Swimming Championship in 2017 and has not stopped since. He was notably European champion in 2018 on the 100 meters backstroke and in 2021 on the 200 meters medley. The young man also won a silver and a bronze medal for his first Paralympic Games in Tokyo last year.
This gifted disabled swimmer, however, discovered this discipline late in life, in 2015. “While on vacation, I met an amputee girl who told me that I could take part in disabled sports competitions. I didn’t know I had the right. I thought the Paralympic Games were only for amputees or wheelchair users,” he says.
Swimming a default choice
This is indeed not the case of Ugo Didier. “I have club feet (deformation of the foot, editor’s note), knees recurvatum (hyperextension of the joint, editor’s note), no cruciate ligaments and atrophy of the muscles of all the lower limbs. It prevents me from running, jumping and standing for too long, ”explains the swimmer.
Ugo Didier continues: “So I started swimming by default because I couldn’t do football or volleyball for example”. But it’s a real crush on the young man. “I immediately liked it. Even though swimming was a default choice, I quickly took a liking to it and to competition too,” recalls the athlete.
Sport allowed him to accept his handicap
Very comfortable in the water, the swimmer begins the competition at the age of 8. He then competes with the able-bodied. “I was looking for solutions to swim as fast as them, even if it was far from easy. I continue to swim with the able-bodied. It stimulates me to have faster training partners,” smiles Ugo Didier.
If swimming does not make him forget his handicap, it nevertheless allows him to accept it. “Sport reminds me that I have a disability, even when I’m in the water. But swimming helped me realize that I could live, play sports and even win competitions despite everything,” he explains.
Ugo Didier also succeeds in studies
The young man is not only gifted in the pools, but also on the school benches. It is indeed obtained his baccalaureate S with honors and is now a civil engineering student at theNational Institute of Applied Sciences (Insa) of Toulouse. “I chose this school because it offers a course suitable for high-level athletes,” says the swimmer.
Despite his 24 hours of training per week, reconciling sport and studies does not seem to be a problem for Ugo Didier. “It’s a matter of organization. When I am in class, I no longer think about sport and vice versa. I think it allows me to put the importance of the other into perspective, ”notes the Toulousain.
Win a gold medal at the Paris Olympics
But as we approach Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, doing this work may be less obvious. “I’m already starting to feel the pressure of the event. However, we must try to take advantage of this enthusiasm around the Games,” said Ugo Didier. The swimmer has one goal: to get the gold medal.
“I keep a great taste of unfinished business from the last Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Certainly, I did my best time in the 400 meters freestyle and I brought home a silver medal. But I miss a gold medal on these Paralympic Games. This is something that I would like to catch up with in the next ones, ”he announces.
He hopes for a promotion of disabled sport
Ugo Didier is therefore training to win this famous gold medal. “I started Paralympic preparation at the start of the season. I am still far from being ready physically, technically and mentally. But there are still two years left. I am motivated to attack these very busy and crucial years”, assures the swimmer.
If winning this medal is awarded important to him, his hopes for the Paris 2024 Games do not stop there. “I hope that the elements of language, such as saying Olympic and Paralympic Games, will be put in place on the side of the general public. And it must remain a habit after Paris 2024”, wishes the athlete.