ITF

167 M ichael: To be No. 1 in the world was something, but I think the best souvenir and what people will remember me for is being a Paralympian. Gold is the top of the top. Being No. 1 is tougher because you have to be the best on average in all your tournaments in the year, but when you get a gold you are on top of the world. That's what Stephane, my partner, and I were showing in Beijing. We were doing a pyramid sign and showing that we were at the top of this pyramid which was representing the world. Stephane: Being on the court, getting the gold, I think we were so focused on the match that we couldn't take it in afterwards. We made jokes and we had a lot of fun together. Probably that was a mix of being happy and, "Okay, we did a job we were supposed to do, so it's fine." When we went back home, the first difference was the media. That was funny to go on television. That was one of the first times for me, even though I was No. 1 in golf in Europe before. That was interesting to understand that the country, despite the time difference, was following the Paralympics. And then we went straight from the airport to the house of the President [Nicolas Sarkozy]. That was funny. Michael: That made it even more special. I literally then partied for 32 days in a row, every single night I was out partying and celebrating. For a Paralympian, London was special. There were full crowds, all the stadiums were packed and they were enthusiastic and loving it. It was live on Channel 4 [ TV ], with coverage from morning to late evening. You go on the streets everywhere and people say, "Hey, look, professional athletes", not professional disabled athletes. No matter what we looked like, we were all Olympians and Paralympians and honestly that was something special. Stephane: One of the interesting things was that everything was free in the Village. Imagine a world without money where we are all together – USA, Israel, Iraq, Iran, France, Japan, all together. That's the best feeling for a human being. Michael: In my career, it would be in my top four emotions. Winning the French Nationals one year after my accident was very intense. Being No. 1 in the world was something huge, the gold medal in Beijing, and my first medal in the singles in Athens completes my top four. Twenty-eight people came to support me in Athens. The best was the reaction of my parents and my brothers when I won. There were so many tears, like, "Damn, we almost lost him four years ago and now he's a Paralympic medallist!" I wasn't emotional because I managed the accident and the disability quite quickly. After just two or three years, I was ready to fight this life. After that it was very intense for a full year because I just kept playing better and better. You could see the pride of my entourage. They were really happy for me and proud of the achievement, in such a short time to be able to bounce back after such an accident and be a top athlete. Rio will be my last Paralympics and then I will retire. That will be my fourth Paralympics, and I've got medals in all. If I can get a medal in Rio, that would be amazing. Stephane: I've made a big change with my new chair so I want to see how much further I can go with this chair and it seems I play better and better. That's the main goal for this year – take two golds in Rio, singles and doubles. We were doing a pyramid sign and showing that we were at the top of this pyramid which was representing the world. BEIJING 2008 MEN'S WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES GOLD LONDON 2012 MEN'S WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES BRONZE also MICHAEL JEREMIASZ: ATHENS 2004 MEN'S WHEELCHAIR SINGLES BRONZE ATHENS 2004 MEN'S WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES SILVER also STEPHANE HOUDET: LONDON 2012 MEN'S WHEELCHAIR SINGLES SILVER

• Cover