Science at UM [S04-ep01]: Optimizing Paralympic performance
At UM, science returns for a new season with Yann Beldame and Rémi Richard, sociologists at the Health, Education, and Disability Laboratory (Santesih). They talk to us about performance and training environments for parasports athletes. In the second part of the program, Lorenzo Stievano gives us a tour of the battery testing room at theICGM. A program co-produced with Divergence FM and broadcast every Wednesday at 6 p.m. on 93.9.
75 is the number of medals, including 19 gold, won by the 230 French para-athletes at the Paralympic Games, which ended on September 8. Eight is our place in the competition rankings. This marks a return to the top 10 that France had not seen since the Sydney Games in 2000. We came14th in Tokyo in 2020,12th in Rio in 2016, and16th in London in 2012. So we're still a long way off our 40-year-old record, which was fourth place in Barcelona in 1992 with 36 gold medals out of a total of 106.
Can this return to favor be explained by anything other than the enthusiasm of the French public, which was indeed present? Beyond the issue of visibility, what factors contribute to improving the performance of parasports athletes? How can athletic training and the environment surrounding that training improve performance? What levers for action can be proposed to those involved in the Paralympic world, whether the athletes themselves, their families, or their staff?
These are some of the questions addressed in a report entitled Paraperf "Optimizing Paralympic performance: from identification to medal winning." This report was produced as part of a call for projects launched ahead of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. It is the result of a collaboration between numerous partners, including two sports federations, the French Handisport Federation and the French Shooting Federation, and more than 13 research units, including the Montpellier-based Santesih laboratory for health education and disability.
Sociologists Yann Beldame and Rémi Richard contributed to the preparation of this report, particularly the section entitled "The social production of Paralympic performance: Availability, Expertise, Sociability, and Competition."
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In the second part of the program, we take you to the CNRS site, specifically to the Balard chemistry center, where Lorenzo Steviano, a researcher at the Charles Gerhardt Institute in Montpellier, gives us a tour of the battery testing room.
At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Production: Tom Chevalier
Listen to the program “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
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