Tokyo Paralympic Games: Athletes' Diverse Fortunes

Like the Olympic Games, the 2020 Tokyo (Japan) Paralympic Games were postponed because of the Covid-19. They will take place from August 24 to September 5, 2021. A postponement announced in March, as the athletes intensified their training, in agreement with their employer.

“We do not drop our 4 para-athletes because they signed a CDI, then a CIP (Editor's note: professional integration contract) which provides for an adjustment of their timetable, with 100% compensation for the 50 days worked a minimum per year, ”explains Olivia Klein, the manager of the SNCF athlete system. “We will be exchanging with their federations at the start of the school year on their corporate presence calendar ahead of the Tokyo 2021 Games. A total detachment may be planned to prepare. "

In the financial blur

"My salary at the SNCF allows me to live as a father, not to finance a season at 40,000 euros", tempers the visually impaired sprinter Trésor Makunda, supported by a trainer and two guides.

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If athletes, suffering from a degenerative pathology, do not know if they will be in physical capacity in a year, the world champion is himself in financial limbo: “My contract with Optic 2000, my main sponsor, ends in December. I will be fixed in November when they vote the 2021 budget. ”“ My status as a medalist and Olympic champion in Rio allows me to continue to receive personalized help from the judo federation. This is not the case for everyone, ”says Sandrine Martinet. At 38, the visually impaired judokate has been living "much worse" since she ceased her activity as a physiotherapist in preparation for the 2020 Paralympic Games. Job that she will not resume until after the 2021 edition because she must now "s 'train thoroughly to make up for lost time' during confinement.

Signatories of image contracts with EDF do not have to worry. "We don't ask ourselves the question of disengaging," says Pierre Viriot, communications manager. The members of the "EDF Team" earn several tens of thousands of euros per year to finance equipment, plane tickets, etc. In return, they intervene, five days a year, with schoolchildren, on disability or the environment.

A sponsorship contract at 20,000 euros per year

Supported by EDF and the banking group BPCE, the four-amputee swimmer Théo Curin is a privileged person. “My partners remain committed despite the crisis. The only problem is that I plan to work more on TV after the Olympics. This project has been postponed, ”says the columnist for France 5.

At BPCE, which pays an average of 20,000 euros per year per athlete via a sponsorship contract, "the postponement of one year does not change anything, because it is a long-term commitment", assures Jean-Yves Forel, his spokesperson. As a sponsor of Paris 2024, the banking group plans to support 105 French athletes, 34 of whom are disabled, at least so far.

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