All's well That ends well.
Cécile Hernandez, the snowboarder from Angles (Pyrénées-Orientales), won her legal battle with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The news fell this Wednesday at the beginning of the afternoon.
"I received a message from my German lawyer saying, 'Thank you for allowing me to make you happy.
".
I was with my daughter, Victoire Éléonore and we were about to watch the movie Titanic.
When she saw me crying, she looked at my phone and jumped for joy.
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For the reigning world champion, it's the end of a nightmare month and an endless wait.
Due to the deletion of her category (LL1), the 47-year-old Perpignan woman believed that her Olympic dream was going to be shattered.
Although the International Handisport Federation (WPA) had accepted that this category (severely disabled) could compete with the LL2 (less severely disabled), the CIP was not of this opinion, highlighting in particular the excessive risks incurred by the LL1 athletes, but also LL2 athletes.
“Now the pressure is on my shoulders”
"As I'm superstitious, I hadn't prepared anything," smiles Cécile Hernandez.
There, everything will have to be done in disaster.
But it does not matter.
I will be able to see and touch the snow of Beijing.
It's so great !
With three Olympic medals around her neck (silver at Sochi 2014 in cross country and Pyeongchang 2018 in slalom, bronze in Korea in slalom), the Frenchwoman dreams only of gold.
“Now I have to watch when my events take place, smiles the Catalan.
The ideal would be to win two gold medals in slalom and cross.
Even if for the symbol, I will leave one to Brenna.
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With the American Brenna Huckaby, the French fought a legal battle with the CIP so that the values of courage and inclusion are always relevant.
In the meantime, the French delegation will leave at 17 for China.
"Cécile is on the plane, the team is complete", commented in a message, Christian Fémy, the sports director of the French disabled team.
“This message is super nice, savors Hernandez.
I am so happy to be able to leave with the France team.
Now the pressure is on my shoulders, because I said the hardest part would be to be in Beijing, rather than winning…”